"Hey, El, I didn't wake you, did I?"

Eleanora stopped packing items in her suitcase, phone pressed to her ear. She knew she couldn't disappear for spring break without telling her family whom she'd promised to come home to, but up until now, she had ignored that fact. 

"Um, no, Siri, I was still up." 

"Okay cool, I'm just ringing because Mum's wondering when you're coming." 

"Uh..." Eleanora hesitated. "Probably the end of the week." 

"What? You promised you'd come home for spring break!" Serena objected. "Mum and Dad are really excited to see you." 

"I think you mean they're excited to get another chance to harangue me about my future, but anyway, I never said I'd be home the whole time, I said I'd come home, meaning at some point for some currently undetermined length of time. I'm actually leaving tomorrow morning for a road trip with a couple friends. Not sure when we'll be back, but I'll make sure I stop in." 

"El, you and I both know this will just make things worse. Just come home." 

"Bye, Siri, I love you," she finished, and hung up the phone. 

The feeling of simultaneous liberation and dread she felt when she place the phone back on the mount made her realise what she liked so much about spending time with Tony. Between Tucker, her sister and her parents, he was one of the only people in her life who wasn't trying to control her. With an extra spring in her step, she continued packing, up until Tucker insisted she do the rest the following morning and come to bed with him so he could give her a 'proper goodbye'. 

• • • 

Eleanora was ready twenty minutes early, which she was rather proud of considering her current state. The previous night, Tucker had been... well... rough, and although she wasn't complaining at the time, she was now quite sore and uncomfortable and and walked incredibly stiffly. 

Not long later, there was a knock on the door, and she grabbed her stuff and struggled over to the door. When she opened the it, she was greeted by Tony and a taller man who she presumed was Rhodey. 

"Hi, it's nice to meet you. I'm Rhodey," the man smiled. 

"It's nice to meet you, too," she returned. "I'm Eleanora, but you can call me Nora. Or... any variation of the name, like this one does," she added, jerking her head toward Tony. 

"Tucker didn't want to say hello to us?" the man in question piped up, glancing over her shoulder. 

"He's still asleep. I figured I wouldn't bother waking him." 

"Long night?" he teased.

Eleanora just threw him a look and started carrying her bags out to the very nice car parked out the front. 

"You good there?" Tony asked in amusement, noticing her awkward gait. 

"Mhm!" she responded, dumping her luggage in the boot. 

"I know that walk."

"I'm sure you do," she shot back snarkily, throwing him a dirty look.

"If you're calling me a whore-" Tony began.

"Let's get going, shall we?" Rhodey cut him off, opening the passenger side door. 

Eleanora climbed into the backseat, meanwhile Tony got into the driver's seat, and then the car was backing out of the driveway, and heading off down the road. 

"Would you be able to get out the map, honey bear? Once I get onto Route One, I'll be fine, but someone made us detour just so her boyfriend could-" 

"Finish that sentence, I fucking dare you," she cut him off and he snapped his mouth shut before flashing her a cheeky grin in the rearview mirror. 

"What CDs did you bring?" 

Eleanora fished through her backpack and pulled some out.  "Uh, ELO, Elton John, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, and the B-fifty-two's." 

"Could've picked Joan Jett, but I definitely wouldn't have guessed the B-fifty-two's," Tony commented, raising his eyebrows slightly. 

"Their music is very catchy!" she replied defensively. 

"I swear to god, if you say Rock-" 

"Rock Lobster is groovy." 

"Rhodey, back me up here, it's a terrible song." 

"It's... a terrible song," Rhodey agreed. 

"What kind of music do you listen to then?" 

"ACDC, Guns N Roses, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Clash," Tony began listing. 

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, you like rock. What about you, Rhodey?" 

"I can listen to pretty much anything," the man shrugged. 

"But not Rock Lobster?" 

Rhodey laughed and shook his head, "Sorry."

"So how long have you guys known each other?" Eleanora asked, leaning forward. 

"Since open day at MIT," Rhodey replied. "I was doing tours and saw this punk-ass little fifteen year old kid who looked like a lost puppy and figured he needed a babysitter... and here we are, three years later." 

"Was he a good student at MIT?" 

"Depends how you define that," he laughed. "He got excellent grades and obviously finished in half the time but he hardly studied or rocked up to classes."

"Okay, it wasn't that bad," Tony scoffed. "You're exaggerating." 

"Not as much as I wish I was." 

"Oh please, like you were a star pupil." 

"How is he at Stanford?" Rhodey asked Eleanora, changing the subject with rather poor subtlety. 

"Well, he comes to all the physical chem classes, but I don't know about his other topics." 

"What about you? What's your plan when you're out of college?" 

She saw Tony's expression shift slightly, obviously aware that it was somewhat of a stressful topic for the young woman, but she wasn't that fazed. After all, Rhodey wasn't one of her family members or professors who had high expectations of her and wanted her to have her life planned out - he was just trying to get to know her. And that wasn't so bad. 

"I'm not really sure yet," she shrugged, "I'm majoring in chemistry, but I'm not really sure what I plan on doing with that." 

"That's fair enough," he nodded. "Some people know exactly what they want to do at a really young age, but that wasn't me either. It's hard having to make decisions about your entire future at this age, but you'll find your calling." 

"Thanks, Rhodey," she smiled. "What's your last name, anyway?" 

"Rhodes." 

"Wait... so your name is Rhodey Rhodes?" 

The two men burst into laughter and she felt her face heat up in embarrassment, not sure what was so funny to warrant that reaction. 

"No, no, it's James Rhodes." 

"Oh," she snorted. "That makes more sense." 

It took about forty-five minutes to travel from Palo Alto to San Gregorio, where they turned off the highway to stop off at the beach. Eleanora was the first to reach the edge of the clifftop and looked around at the stunning scene in awe, holding her hair back to prevent it from whipping her in the face. 

"This is gorgeous... I'm kind of sad we won't be here at sunset." 

"Lenny, the whole trip will be driving down the coast, I assure you the sunset will be just as good in Santa Cruz," Tony promised with a snicker. "You see, the sun is pretty big, so-"

"Oh, don't be a twat." 

"Twat," Tony mocked in her accent, only to yelp when she jabbed him hard. 

"You deserved that," Rhodey sniggered. 

"Oh, come on, it's funny when she talks in her accent." 

"That's how I always talk," she frowned, crossing her arms over chest. 

"Exactly- OW!" 

He pouted and rubbed the spot on his ribs where she'd jabbed him again. 

"Do you really want to piss me off when we're standing next to a cliff?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips. 

"I'm just messing with you," he grinned, reaching up to pat her on the head. 

"You're not tall enough to do that," she said, smacking his hand away. "We're the same height." 

"She's got a point." 

"Thanks, Rhodey," she smiled, giving the man a high-five. 

"Traitor," Tony muttered. 

"Race you to the water!" Eleanora called, beginning to run down the hill to the beach. 

"What are you, twelve?" he scoffed. 

"Maybe, but at least I'm not a rotten egg!" 

"Oh, fuck that," he grumbled, taking off after her. "You coming, Rhodey? You don't want to be a rotten egg, do you?" 

"Seriously, man?"

Having not expected him to actually chase after her, it didn't take long for Tony to catch up to her. She let out a shriek when he grabbed her around the stomach and flung her roughly down onto the sand. She immediately lifted her head up and sent him a harsh glare as she spat sand out of her mouth, only for Rhodey to fly past both of them, sprinting towards the water. 

Eleanora and Tony looked at each other, before both scrambling towards the shore again. Seizing her opportunity, Eleanora shoved Tony down to the ground, only for him to grab her ankle and send her crashing back down too. Fortunately, she was able to get to her feet quicker than him and ran towards Rhodey, who was standing ankle-deep in the water, watching the pair with an amused expression. 

Tony got to his feet and walked defeatedly to the water's edge, smiling innocently at Eleanora, who was glaring at him. 

"What? Did you think I'd go easy on you?" 

"No, but I didn't think you'd slam me face-first into the sand like that!" 

"Yeah, man, that was pretty rough," Rhodey laughed. "Though, it was funny to watch." 

"I'm a very competitive person, don't challenge me." 

"Yeah, I think I've learnt that one," Eleanora muttered, getting sand out of her ear. 

"Oh, stop being such a pussy," Tony scoffed. "Do you want to go look at some of the caves?" 

"Alright, but we can't go too far north, that's the 'private' beach," Rhodey advised. 

"So, what you're really saying-" 

"No," Rhodey and Eleanora cut off in unison, and Tony laughed. 

They spent half an hour exploring a few of the caves along the the cliffside before deciding they should hit the road again and heading back to the carpark. 

"Thank you again for inviting me to come with you guys," Eleanora said sincerely as the three of them brushed the sand of their feet. "This is so much fun." 

"This is just the first stop, Nora," Rhodey smiled. "We've got a long way to go." 

"Yeah, Lenny, this is only the beginning."

• • • 

"I need to pee." 

"Do you want me to pull over?" 

"Oh, is there a toilet up ahead?"

"No, I just meant on the side of the road." 

Eleanora jerked her head back, affronted by Tony's suggestion. "It's all well and good when you have a willy you can just whip out, but in case it escaped your notice, I do not." 

"Well, you're just going to have to hold it until the next rest area, then." 

"Alright, but I've had a lot of fluids today, so make haste." 

"You mean drive over the speed limit?" Tony asked with mock scandal, raising his eyebrows. 

"Your words, not mine," Eleanora held her hands up. "Besides, you already were, you reckless git." 

"So you're telling me off for speeding while coercing me into speeding more?" 

"Would you prefer I piss on your car seat?" 

"Uh, I'd really rather you didn't." 

"There's a stop in thirty miles," Rhodey interrupted. 

"Says who?" 

"Says the sign we just passed that you were too busy being a pain in the ass to notice," he replied flatly. 

"Oh, of course you'd side with her," Tony rolled his eyes. 

"Look, man, I gotta go too."

When the got to the rest area, Eleanora and Rhodey went to the toilets meanwhile Tony made his way inside to get some more snacks. 

"I'll drive, you can rest," Rhodey said to Tony as they were making their way back to the car.  "Nora, you're in the front." 

"Uh, what?" 

"Navigating," he answered with a grin, climbing into the driver's seat. 

"If you rely on me for navigating we'll end up in Canada!" Eleanora warned, hesitantly getting in the car. 

"It's okay, I know where I'm going," he assured her. "It's just an excuse to make him sit in the back," he continued, throwing a smirk over his shoulder at Tony, who rolled his eyes. 

"Yeah, whatever, Sour Patch. " 

It was only 20 minutes later that that there was a small thud, and a bump on the road. 

"What the hell?" Rhodey muttered, immediately pulling the car over on the side of the road. 

"That was too small to be human," Tony shook his head. "Unless... it was just a really small child." 

Rhodey turned to glare at him before getting out of the car, followed by Eleanora and Tony. Eleanora grimaced at the sight of the slightly distorted form of the dead opossum. 

"That came out of nowhere, I didn't even see it," he furrowed his brows. 

Eleanora was well aware of the fact that an innocent creature had just lost its life, and the sight of the body greatly disturbed her. But the words were out before she could stop herself and evaluate the appropriateness of the comment. 

"Rhode kill." 

There was a short moment of silence before Tony snorted and Rhodey shot her an expression that told her he found it funny but didn't want to. 

"I can assure you," Tony began with a wide grin, "this isn't his first... Rhodey-o." 

Rhodey ran his hands over his face, which muffled his exasperated sigh. "I hate you both." 

• • • 

Do to their frequent stopping, it was early evening by the time they arrived at their hotel in Santa Cruz. 

"There's your room," Tony said, handing Eleanora a keycard after checking in at reception. "I'm pretty sure it's across the hall from ours. Let's go."

It's not like she was expecting to be staying in old, dirty, cheap motels, but she certainly didn't anticipate how nice the rooms would be. Sure, her parents were wealthy, but they didn't really go anywhere as a family so places like this were new to her. They were spacious and elegantly decorated, with a very comfortable king bed that she was looking forward to cocooning herself into. When she stepped into the bathroom and saw he massive tub and array of complimentary soaps, she instantly decided that she was going to have a bath that night. 

After they settled in, the trio headed to the beach to explore the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, which was packed full of people who had come to experience the various rides, attractions and food the amusement park had to offer. 

"Holy shit," Eleanora breathed when they came to a stop in front of the Fireball. "Humans are not designed to do that." 

"That's what makes it fun," Rhodey beamed. "You haven't been on any rides like this before?" 

"Nope," she shook her head. "And I don't plan on-" 

"C'mon," Tony interrupted with a wicked grin, heading towards the ticket booth.

"No way." 

"Yes." 

"No!" 

"Yes!" 

Eleanora groaned in frustration. "Shouldn't I go on something a little... tamer first?" 

"Nope, we'll just jump right into it. Let's go," he insisted. 

"What if my earrings fall out?" she asked desperately, knowing it was a very slim possibility, but figured she'd try the excuse anyway. 

"They're not going to fall out," he scoffed. 

"You don't know that." 

"Fine, hand them over - I'll put them in my zip up pocket and they won't go anywhere." 

Eleanora pressed her lips together and stared at his hopeful face for a moment. "Fine." 

He and Rhodey both cheered and purchased three tickets for the ride, meanwhile Eleanora wondered what the hell she had signed up for. Yet, standing there with her two friends (she had labelled Rhodey as a friend rather quickly) in that chaotic but joyous place, and watching them shout excitedly over the noise... she may have been a little bit excited. 

Just a little bit.