âItâs likeâIâm likeâyou know those fuckinâ glass boxes with theâtheâŚâ Tommyâs fingers twitch. âThe moths, pinned down, preserved fuckinâ perfectly and they justâtheyâre just there? Dead? I feel like one of âem. Iâm just a dead moth. But Iâm not dead, Iâm likeâIâm still alive but it doesnât feel like it, and Iâm pinned down and the glass is just there for him to watch me and Iâm fuckinââI canât even die. I canât go anywhere. Itâs like, before, I thought I was free, like I got unpinned, but I was just.â He jerks his hand up. âFlappinâ around. Still trapped in the room. And he caught me again. And the pins areâŚthey go straight through my bones. It would be better if I was one of the dead ones. Then I couldnât feel it. Feel his fuckinâ eyes. Iâm not even a puppet! Iâm notâbecause what is he controlling? Iâm justâjustâtrapped. Iâm trapped. Fuck,â he breathes. âFuck. I wish I knew how to live.â
At that, Wilburâs face twists.
âMe too,â he chokes out. Clears his throat. âMe too.â
Tommy nods, silently. Finally lets himself fall against Wilburâs side, hands twisted in familiar yellow wool. Wilburâs come up to circle his wrists, leaving fingerprints of ash on his skin.
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âtony getting deaged and rhodey being the only one he trusts/surprised rhodey is still in his lifeâ for @official-impravidus. happy birthday, lexie my love!
âWhat the fuck happened to him?â
Jim knows his voice is shaking, but itâs better than yelling, better than seeing the teenager in front of him shrink away and curl in on himself, a habit that took years for Jim to coax out of him with gentle words and even gentler touches. Rogers raises his hands in a show of peaceâIâm on your sideâbut it does nothing to quell the anger building in Jimâs throat.
âWe donât know what happened, Rhodeyââ
Jimâs fists clench at his sides at the nickname from Rogersâs mouth as Tonyâlittle Tony, tiny Tony, the Tony that used to be hisâlooks up in shock.
âRhodey?â he asks breathlessly, hopefully. âYouâyouâre Rhodey?â
Jim nods, not trusting his voice.
And then his arms are full of a trembling teenager, a trembling teenager that was once his, and his shirt is slowly growing damp from the silent tears Tony cries against his chest.
Itâs easier than breathing to hold Tony closer.
He starts carding a hand through Tonyâs soft hair, the usual gel that Jimâs become accustomed to absent, and rubs his back with the other hand, humming just soft enough for Tony to pick up the melody and tap it out on his shoulder with light brushes of his fingers.
Rogers stares at them.
Jim doesnât care, because Tonyâs not shaking anymore.
-
He takes Tony to the lab first, because the lab is where his Tony feels safe.
But this Tony looks around with an unreadable expressionâalmost unreadable, except to Jim.
Itâs disbelief. And fear.
âI did this? Notânot Howard?â
It breaks Jimâs heart.
âYeah, Tones. It was you.â
âOh,â Tony whispers. âWicked.â
-
Jim tells him about the future, and Tony listens with wide eyes.
Jim tells him about Tonyâs place in the future, and Tony understands with wider ones.
-
Itâs not hard to tell Tony about his parentsâ death.
Itâs the hardest thing in the world to tell Tony about Edwin Jarvisâs.
Tony tries to make JARVIS again, for the first time in his lifetime, and Jim has to stop him, for the fifth time in his lifetime.
Jim holds him while he cries.
-
Tony doesnât ask about Rogers until two days in, after two days of not leaving Jimâs side, after two days spent in the lab with the bots, his creations, his children.
Theyâre on the couch in the common living room, watching Star Wars Episode VII, because after Tony had heard there were more than just the original trilogy, heâd begged for a marathon and Jimâs never been able to resist his puppy eyes. Tonyâs head is pillowed on his chest, Jimâs nose is resting against the crown of his head, and their arms are around each other. Tonyâs watching the movie. Jimâs watching him.
Rogers walks into the room right as Finn and Poe reunite on screen.
Tony tenses. Jim holds him tighter.
âOhâI didnât realize you were in hereââ Rogers says. Jim taps a calming pattern against Tonyâs back.
âItâs all good, man.â
Thereâs a beat, a moment of silence as sharp as glass where Rogersâs eyes stay on Tony, and Tonyâs eyes donât leave the screen.
Jim clears his throat and shatters it. Rogers blinks, nods, looks at Tony one more time, and leaves the room.
Thereâs an explosion on screen.
âHow did he find him?â Tony asks, barely a whisper. Â
Jim frowns into Tonyâs hair. âHow did who find him?â
âHoward.â
âNo,â Jim says sharply, before he can stop himself. âIt wasnât Howard.â
âOh.â
âHeâs gone, Tones. Rogers wasnât his find. And Rogersâheâsââ Jim sighs. âHeâs okay.â Â
Tony relaxes against his chest.
âOkay, platypus.â
-
The overwhelming feeling of relief, and then guilt, creeps its way into Jimâs heart when Tony still refuses to leave his side, even with his newfound trust in Rogers, and to an extent, the rest of the team.
It takes them a week to figure out how to reverse it, a week for the flowers of relief and weeds of guilt to continue to grow, along with the coiling, painful root of longing, longing for his Tony. Â
Tonyâs always been perceptive, so when he picks up on it, Jim isnât surprised.
âYou miss him. Me. The other me. Your me.â
âEvery you is mine,â Jim says immediately, and means it.
Tony will always be his, and he will always be Tonyâs. Itâs the way the universe works.
Tony just rolls his eyes. âNo shit, Sherlock. But you still miss him. I meanâŚitâs weird to be in love with a seventeen-year-old when youâre likeâŚfifty.â
Jim drops the casserole dish and spills Momma Robbieâs famous peach cobbler across the kitchen tiles, staining white with yellows and oranges.
âShit,â he says, because Tony flinched, even if he tried to hide it. âCâmere, Tones.â
âDid I guess wrong?â Tony asks weakly, tucked into Jimâs chest, head under his chin.
They fit together like pieces of a puzzle; or, two puzzles with matching pieces.
âNo. No, you really didnât. You picked up on something my Tonyâs been missing for years, though.â
âHe doesnât know you love him?â
âNo, he doesnât know Iâm in love with him.â
âMaybe he just doesnât want to believe it,â Tony whispers softly.
Jim doesnât know what to say in response.
-
It takes them a week to figure out how to reverse it.
When they do, Tony, Jimâs Tony, stands in front of them, gray at his temples and in his goatee, a lifetime clouding his eyes, but still drowning in Jimâs old MIT hoodie.
âTones?â he asks weakly.
âHey, platypus. I think youâve got something to tell me.â
âI hate you.â
âNo, Iâm pretty sure it was the opposite,â Tony says, a smirk that looks more like a smile on his face.
And then heâs in Jimâs arms.
His Tony is in his arms.
Jim smiles.
Itâs easier than living to kiss Tony breathless.
You asked for prompts, so maybe Rhodey/Tony with the Avengers meeting Rhodey for the first time and realizing how devoted Tony is to him? Like Tony has been doing that Trademark Stark thing but then the team sees him with Rhodey for the first time and realizes THIS is the real Tony.
thank you for the prompt!!! this was so much fun to write, i hope you enjoy!!
Tony Stark is an enigma.
He wears expressions like theyâre masks, and wields words like theyâre weapons, and takes people apart with one piercing glance.
Heâs more than a man, heâs a paradox; he isnât made of flesh and bone and blood, no, Tony Stark is made of gears and wires and lines of code that run the solutions to every possible problem before they happen.
Itâs terrifying.
Natasha looks at him, and to her, heâs a mirror; Tony reflects what they all want to see. And mirrors are not glass. She canât tell whatâs real, canât see through him at all, and she hates it. It makes her feel weak. She tries breaking the mirror, breaking Tony, but it doesnât work. Even at his lowest point, sitting across from her and Fury in the diner, he reflects what she wants to seeâa broken man. And yet, not a broken mirror.
Steve doesnât know what to think of him; he is nothing like Howard, and yet he is everything like Howard. Steve sees Howard in the way Tony balances five conversations at once, the way Tony knows heâs the smartest person in the room and acts like it, the way he carries himself with his hands constantly in motion. It makes Steve ache for the time he left behind.
Bruce only sees an equal in him; their minds attract each other like magnets. But magnets can repel each other, can become polar opposites so very easily, and as Tony starts pushing, Bruce lets himself be repelled, because itâs easier than answering Tonyâs questions that strike too close. Bruce doesnât know how he does it, how he can find someoneâs heart in minutes, especially because Tony acts like he doesnât understand people at all. Itâs fascinating, and confusing, and not a magnet Bruce wants to draw in.
Clint thinks itâs all a show; Tony acts like the people he grew up around, performers who used flashy tricks to distract the audience from their real movements. Tony is a magician, Clint realizes, after he reviews the footage of the days he missed, and sees things no one else caught, sees the bugs he plants and the seeds he sows, because Tony was too busy distracting them all with his words.
Heâs a myriad of things, a collection of lies and half-truths, and the Avengers donât know what to do with him.
-
âI donât know what Iâm gonna do with you,â Tony hears, and he knows heâs covered in engine grease and that thereâs probably some in his hair, but thatâs not really the point. Then thereâs arms wrapping around him, a chest pressing to his back, lips against his temple, the smell of jasmine lotion surrounding him, Rhodey slotting into place behind him.
Itâs embarrassing how long it takes Tonyâs brain to register the facts, and he turns around so quickly he gets whiplash.
âYouâre home!â
âClearly Iâm less interesting than that engine that youâre working on.â
âI havenât slept in two days,â Tony says, just to watch Rhodey get that crinkle in his brow. He kisses it. âI missed you.â
âMissed you too, genius.â Rhodeyâs lips trail across the exposed skin of his shoulder. âYouâre wearing my sweatshirt.â
âWhen am I not wearing your sweatshirt, honey bear?â
âWhen Iâm taking it off of you,â Rhodey says, punctuating it with a bite.
âOh, yeah, fair pointââ
Rhodey cuts him off with a kiss.
-
Steve walks in on them first, in the kitchen, where Tonyâs sitting on the counter with his legs crossed under him, drowning in clothes that are too big for him and mismatched socks, wearing a smile thatâs as blinding as the sun.
He feels like itâs a moment that needs to be captured in time, but only for the two men in front of him, a moment that he wasnât meant to see.
Tony doesnât look anything like Howard as he draws Jim Rhodes into a kiss.
Steve leaves, and if he draws the smile on Tonyâs face and gives the picture to Jim later, thatâs between them.
-
Natasha finds them during movie night, when Tonyâs sleeping on top of Jim Rhodes, head pillowed on his chest and arms wrapped around his waist, bare feet hanging out at the end of the blanket that covers them both. The movie plays as background noise; even Natasha can see that Jimâs only got eyes for Tony.
When she comes closer to pull the blanket over Tonyâs feet and Jim mouths a silent thanks to her, she sees Tonyâs face, half-pressed into Jimâs neck.
He looks content. No mirror to reflect what she wants to see, only glass to show her what Jim Rhodes always sees.
Jimâs gaze shifts to meet hers.
âWanna watch?â he asks softly, motioning towards the T.V. with a brush of his hand across Tonyâs back.
The offer is surprising, but whatâs more surprising is when she sits down, and Jim lets her put Tonyâs feet in her lap to keep the blanket from slipping off of them again.
Neither of them watch the movie much, and Natasha realizes, as Tony starts to stir, and is greeted with a soft kiss from Jim, that the mirror doesnât need breaking to show her the real Tony Stark.
-
Bruce comes across them in Tonyâs workshop, where Tonyâs lying on his stomach across a workbench, focused on a holographic blueprint of the War Machine armor, arms and legs dangling off the edge of the bench like heâs a little kid. Jim Rhodesâ fingers are loosely entwined with Tonyâs from where he sits on stool, looking at the same hologram but in a smaller size.
Before Bruce can say anything, Tony rolls off the bench with no verbal warning; Jim catches him anyway.
They stand up together, and then suddenly theyâre working together in a seamless dance of passing parts and trading kisses, the moon orbiting the earth, or the earth orbiting the sun, and Bruce thinks that maybe he does want to draw in the magnet that is Tony Stark.
-
Clintâs the last person in the Tower to see them, and when he does, they find him, rather than the other way around.
Heâs sitting on the roof, because open air clears the clutter in his mind, and he hears the door open behind him.
They donât even notice him, too wrapped up in each other, Tony tugging Jim outside, his quips and tricks and words turned soft, and theyâre met with a smile thatâs just as soft. None of it is a show, not for Jim Rhodes.
Clint clears his throat.
âYou two should get a room.â
âChrist, birdbrain, warn a guy!â Tony yelps. His hand doesnât leave Jimâs, and his face doesnât change, and Clint thinks that maybe the curtains have closed for real, and the show is over for the Avengers, too.
-
Tony Stark is still an enigma.
But now, the Avengers understand him a bit better.
They understand that he belongs to Jim, and that Jim belongs to him, and that they are each otherâs. They understand that if they donât try to learn who Tony is, it wonât work, because the only person who can know him without any effort is Jim Rhodes. They understand that Tony will be what they want to see, that he will be abrasive and sharp, that he will be polarizing, that he will put on a show, unless he is with Jim Rhodes. They understand that Tony is not what they thought.
Itâs still terrifying.
But itâs terrifying because Tonyâs love is terrifying, all-encompassing, and theyâve only experienced a fragment of it.
Itâs a miracle, they think, that Jim Rhodes hasnât burned up yet.
if every breath is sacred / god, i want to breathe.
They crash into each other like stars.
Itâs slow at first, their journey to each other, the way it always has been, a decade-long path to each otherâs arms, but when they reach each other, itâs an explosion of love brighter than anything the universe has witnessed before. They fall to the ground together, words overlapping as their foreheads press together, Deanâs hands fisted in the ever-familiar fabric of a trench coat he knows better than any piece of clothing heâs ever wornâthe trench coat he gripped to pull his angel from the darkness; Castielâs hands clutching at the shoulders he had the honor of recreating inch-by-inchâthe shoulders that he took hold of to pull his righteous man out of perdition.
Their skin burns where it touches, and for the first time, Dean truly understands the brand Castiel left on his shoulder, a mark, a claim, a declaration.
I love you.
âCastiel,â he manages, the single word his own declaration. âYou stupid son of a bitchâCas.â
And for the first time in his very, very long life, CastielâCasâfeels like he can finally, finally breathe.
âironhusbands, pre relationship, focusing on them in their first year of college and being like rhodey really realizing how young tony isâ and âsweater sharingâ
âHave you heardââ
âDid you seeââ
âHe went to Robâs partyââ
The whispers are carried to him on the wind, full of rumors, sometimes lies, sometimes truths.
Jim doesnât care. He knows Tony Starkâthe heir to the Stark empire, son of the legend, Howard Starkâis on campus, but he doesnât care.
Thereâs no reason for him to.
The kid is 16, apparently, a prodigy for his age, which Jim couldâve guessed, and he gives zero shits about his education.
Jim hasnât heard anything about the kid going to classes; only about parties, and girls, and sometimes, the whispers mention boys, too. They call Stark a charmer, a slut, a flirt, and worse.
Maybe Jim cares a little bit.
Stark is 16, and he already has a reputation, one that scares Jim.
âOh my God, did you see how much he drank last night?â a girl says, eyes wide in a mockery of surprise.
âHe never seems like heâs drunk, though,â her friend says.
Jim frowns.
âMaybe it runs in the family,â the first girl teases, and then theyâre both laughing, walking in the other direction.
Jim frowns harder.
-
He goes to a party the next chance he gets.
Stark is there, in the center of it all, holding court like a prince standing on the backs of his adoring subjects. Heâs sprawled across a sofa, legs draped across the lap of a girl whose hand is resting on the inside of his thigh, head in the lap of another girl whose lips are staining marks of red across his jaw.
Starkâs eyes are glazed, the smile he wears is taped on, and Jim realizes with a sinking feeling that itâs all a mask. A mask hastily built, a mask with cracks that Stark uses alcohol to fill, so that no one can see the emotions behind it.
Jim doesnât know how, or why, but he can.
âA toast,â Stark slurs, raising the plastic cup in his hand, âTo dear olâ dad, who sent me to this lovely institution.â
A cheer goes up around the room.
Stark drinks.
Jimâs moving before he realizes, shoving his way past people, fighting to get to Stark, snapping sharply, âCâmon, Tony, letâs go.â
To his surprise, and fear, Stark gets up and takes his hand without second thought. Jim tries not to think about why.
When he takes Stark outside, the kidâbecause God, heâs just a kidâlooks up at him with a raised brow and a smirk made of plaster. âWeâre gonna do it outside? Youâre into exhibitionist shit, huh?â
And then heâs on his knees in front of Jim, and Jimâs trying not to throw up.
âNoâshit, no, please stand up, Starkââ
âWhat?â
Itâs the confusion in his voice that finally does it, and Jimâs retching into the bushes that line the house behind them, coughing up bile.
He hears the clumsy motions of Stark getting to his feet, feels a small but calloused hand on his back, sees Starkâs faceâeyes wide, lips parted in a small o, the face of a kidâand then throws up more bile onto the leaves.
âIâm sorry?â Stark offers quietly, and itâs so different from the brassy, loud, slurred voice of the prince Jim saw only minutes ago.
âHow old are you?â Jim asks. Itâs not what he meant to say, but as Starkâs eyes go a little wider, he knows he needs to know the answer, because itâs not 16.
âIâm almost 15.â
Jim tries not to throw up again.
-
He takes Stark back to his dorm, with its single bed and tiny cork board with pictures of Momma Robbie and Jeanie tacked up, with the single poster of a galaxy taped to his wall and the precarious stack of textbooks on his desk.
Stark drowns in his clothes, the knitted sweatshirt hanging off his shoulder, revealing a collarbone littered with hickeys, the sweatpants hanging low on his hips, showing bruises the shape of fingers pressed into tan skin.
âWhy?â
The question rings out in the silent room.
âWhy what?â
âWhy are you beingâŚlike this?â
âBecause you need this,â Jim says.
Stark just looks at him, his chest rising and falling with exaggerated slow breaths, his eyes blinking slowly, his hands clenched in fists at his sides.
âCâmon, get in bed.â
When Stark doesnât move, Jim freezes.
âNo, Starkânot like that. Iâm not gonna do anything with youâto you. Weâre not doing anything. You deserve a safe place to sleep. Iâm gonna do homework, okay?â
âOkay,â Stark says quietly.
When he falls asleep, curled around the only pillow in Jimâs bed, he looks even younger.
Jim makes himself a promise.
A promise to protect Stark.
-
The next day, when he wakes up with his face pressed to the pages of his physics textbook, and his bed rumpled but empty, he realizes protection is not what Stark wants.
Too bad, Jim thinks. Too fucking bad.
-
Itâs harder than he thinks to find Stark; even if the kid doesnât attend classes, there arenât parties during the day.
The whispers donât tell him anything, and today, theyâre about him.
âHe went home with him, just like thatââ
âHave you see him around before?â
âStark just listened to himââ
Jim ignores them.
He goes to his classes, he takes notes, he tries to focus.
He also thinks about where Stark might be hiding.
-
He doesnât have to think too hard; Starkâs sitting in his dorm when he gets back after his 5:00 lecture.
The door was locked, but Stark didnât seem to have any difficulty with that.
âHi,â Stark says.
âWhat the fuck,â Jim says back.
Stark shrugs. âYou were nice to me. What do you want for it? Money? A reputation boost? We can pretend to fuck, if you donât want to for real, just so that people think you got some.â
âWhat do I want for it?â Jim repeats.
âYeah, payment.â
âI donât want anything.â
âCâmon, everyone wants something,â Stark says, and the way his eyes avoid Jimâs, despite his casual pose and even more casual tone, tells Jim that heâs scared.
âI donât want anything, Stark.â
Itâs a lie; he wants to know who hurt Stark, he wants to give Stark a hug, he wants to protect Stark.
He also wants Stark to let him out of choice, rather than obligation.
âOkay,â Stark says.
Okay, Jim thinks.
What he says is, âYou can stay while I do my homework, if you want.â
âI talk a lot,â Stark tells him. âIâll bother you.â
âI have a little sister, you canât be worse than her.â
âOh.â
So Stark stays.
-
âWhatâs your name?â
âJim.â
âOh, that wonât do at all. Whatâs the rest of it?â
âNo shit, Sherlock, I meant the equation. You calculated wrong.â
âI did not.â
âPut it in the calculator, itâs not 6.78, itâs 6.57.â
âYou did that in your head?â
âIâm not just a pretty face.â
-
âHow oldâs your sister?â
âSheâs 10, but sheâs 7 in that picture.â
âThatâs your mom?â
âYeah, I took that picture of them at the lake near our house.â
âSheâŚshe looks nice.â
âSheâd like you.â
-
âWhatâs your major?â
âAerospace Engineering, so yeah, Iâm a rocket scientist.â
âDamn, howâd you know what I was gonna say?â
âYouâre predictable, Tones.â
âTones?â
âWell, if youâre allowed to give me a nickname, shouldnât the favor be returned?â
âIâŚyeah.â
-
So Jim becomes Rhodey, and Stark becomes Tony, and sometimes Tones.
-
Rhodey realizes a few months in that Tony doesnât need protection.
Tony knows how to protect himself, with a sharp quip or an even sharper smile.
What Tony needs is love.
So Rhodey makes a new promise.
-
After Rhodey has to drag Tony out of another party, after slurred words become quiet apologies, after Tony falls asleep in his bed again, Rhodey calls his momma.
She tells him to bring Tony home for Christmas break.
-
In Rhodeyâs eyes, Tonyâs never looked more alive than when Momma Robbie convinced him to play Scrabble with her and Jeanie.
-
âThat boy needs love, James,â Momma Robbie tells him, a mug of tea cradled in her hands.
âI know, momma.â
âYou gonna make sure he gets it?â
âPretty sure I already am.â
-
When the clock strikes twelve on New Years, Tony tries to kiss him.
Theyâre on the roof, the stars above them reflecting in Tonyâs eyes, and Tony tries to kiss him.
Tonyâs voice is broken glass, slowly tearing Rhodeyâs heart to pieces.
The lie is a knife to the chest.
âJust not like that.â
Tony nods quietly.
They donât share a bed that night.
-
When they get back from break, after a silent car ride, Tony asks suddenly, âWanna see my workshop?â
It wouldâve been simpler to ask if Rhodey wanted to see his heart.
Thereâs no other to answer to give than yes.
-
Itâs a beautiful mess of chaos, the only description befitting the place where Tony breathes life into wires and gears and lines of numbers.
Rhodey doesnât know what to say other than, âThank you, Tones.â
Tony hugs him for an hour, and then spends three more showing him each idea, and then uses another two to get lost in a new project.
Rhodey realizes that this is where Tony truly comes alive.
Heâs a kid in a candy store, a bird taking flight, a genius at work.
And heâs beautiful.
The knife, the lie, digs harder into Rhodeyâs chest.
-
Tony has bad weeks, and worse weeks, where Rhodey doesnât see him for days, but itâs okay.
Itâs okay, because Tony always comes back.
-
Rhodey learns about Howard during a bad week, and about Jarvis on a good one.
He learns about Maria on a good week, and about Ana on a bad one.
Tony brings him pieces, and Rhodey starts to build the puzzle.
Some pieces are missing, and will probably always be missing, but itâs okay.
Rhodey will love him no matter what.
And slowly, Tony is starting to believe that. Rhodey can see it in his eyes, in the way his mask comes off, in the way the cracks become windows for Rhodey to look through.
-
The summer is long. Tony calls him some weeks, emails other weeks, doesnât talk at all for most of them.
The worst part is not knowing if heâs okay.
But Rhodey takes what he can get, and gives as much as Tony will take.
-
When they get back to school, there are fresh bruises on Tonyâs arms. Rhodey gives him a new sweater from Momma Robbie and Tony wears it like its armor.
They get a dorm together, officially, and most nights, Tony ends up in Rhodeyâs bed, in Rhodeyâs arms.
Watching him wake up is the best part of Rhodeyâs day.
Itâs hard, to keep lying, but Tonyâs still just a kid, and Rhodey wonât be another person to use him.
So he loves him in the ways he can, and itâs enough, because it has to be.
-
The whispers are constant, always talking about them, but this time, Rhodey truly doesnât care.
He knows better than the lies they spread.
-
âRhodeyâRhodey, wake up,â Tony whispers against his chest.
Rhodey grunts. ââm sleeping.â
âItâs raining.â
âSo?â
âI wanna go outside.â
Itâs the look in his eyes that does it, the wonder. Rhodeyâs on his feet before he even realizes it. âOkay, Tones.â
They dance in the rain on the roof, and Tony laughs, and Rhodey looks at him, and sees nothing but happiness, and feels nothing but love.
-
Rhodey kisses Tony on his 18th birthday.
Maybe itâs wrong, but the way Tony laughs against his lips and twines his arms around his neck is nothing but right.
âI thoughtââ
âI lied, genius, I had to,â Rhodey whispers, ready to let go, but Tony just holds him tighter.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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âpeople not realizing that tony and rhodey are togetherâ but also basically a rewrite of a1 for @lovelyirony and @official-impravidus
Tony knows the minute he meets Rhodey that heâll marry him, or thatâs what heâd tell people, if he could tell people. In reality, he knows two years into their friendship, when Rhodey brings his favorite pasta dish home from his favorite Italian restaurant, when Rhodey shrugs and said, âYou said today was a rough day.â
They donât get together until three years after that, but the switch from platonic to romantic is as easy as falling into each otherâs arms; itâs as easy as fitting two matching pieces of a puzzle together; itâs as easy as the love they feel for each other. Â
They donât get married until 2004, until Massachusetts signs a law into place. Momma Robbie marries them on the grass outside the building where they met.
âYouâre mine,â Tony says, promises, vows, âAnd Iâm yours.â
âYouâll always be mine,â Rhodey says, promises, vows, âAnd Iâll always be yours.â
-
They have to hide it, for too many reasons to count.
Donât Ask Donât Tell, Stark Industries, the pressâŚ
Itâs easier to hide it.
That doesnât mean itâs not hard, but when Rhodey wakes up to his husband in his arms, and when Tony comes home to his husband trying to cook, and when the world falls away when theyâre together, it doesnât feel hard.
-
And then they lose each other.
-
Rhodey loses Tony to the desert, to the unknown, and he has to grieve not as a husband, but as a friend.
He doesnât give up his search, no matter what his C.O. tells him, no matter what Obidiah tells him.
âJim,â they both say, âHeâs gone.â
No, Rhodeyâs heart tells him. Heâs not.
-
Tony loses Rhodey to the same men who took him, to monsters, and he canât grieve at all.
âNo survivors,â Yinsen translates one day.
Something breaks inside Tony.
He doesnât give up his plan, because if thereâs even a chance, he has to take it.
Thereâs a chance, he thinks. Thereâs a chance.
-
âTony!â Rhodey screams, the desert wind ripping his voice away.
Tony stumbles towards him, a bloody mess of torn clothing and bruised skin and broken bones, but oh, so very alive.
They crash into each other like colliding stars.
âHey,â Tony mumbles.
Rhodey almost collapses with relief, but heâs too busy holding Tony up to fall. âHow was the fun-vee?â
Tony laughs, and itâs weak and raw and quiet, but itâs beautiful.
âYeah, next time you ride with me, okay?â
âOkay, platypus.â
-
They fight about the suit, because Rhodey canât lose Tony again and Tony canât hurt people anymore.
They come to an agreement when Tony builds a second suit.
-
âBut the truth isâŚI am Iron Man,â Tony says, and changes everything.
Rhodeyâs never been prouder of him.
-
And then it all happens too fast.
Rhodey doesnât know Tonyâs dying until after heâs cured.
âYou shouldâve told me,â he growls, buried deep inside his husband.
âI didnât want to say goodbye,â Tony whispers, skin soaked with sweat and face soaked with tears.
Rhodey kisses him like itâs his last night on Earth, because it isnât anymore.
-
Tony wants to join the Avengers, the team that Nick Furyâs putting together.
Rhodey doesnât trust a word they say, not after Rushman says volatile, self-obsessed, doesnât play well with others, because Tony isnât any of those things.
But heâs never been able to stop Tony from doing anything.
He can only be there to catch him after it all, inevitably, goes to shit.
-
And it does go to shit.
Phil Coulson is the one to tell them that Captain America was found, dug out of the Arctic inside the same plane he flew into it with.
Tony doesnât want to process it. Rhodey makes sure he does.
âIt doesnât seem realâhe isnât real. Heâs never been real, Rhodey, he was alwaysâheâs notââ
âHe was the thing that kept Howard from loving you,â Rhodey says, because itâs the truth, and Tony needs the truth.
âYeah. Yeah.â
Rhodey holds him while he cries.
-
When Norse gods attack, because thatâs what their lives are now, Tony goes. Rhodey doesnât. He regrets it, later.
-
Fighting next to Captain America is younger Tonyâs dream come true.
Now, it feels more like a nightmare.
-
Tony knows Rhodey doesnât trust SHIELD.
So, he lets JARVIS take care of it, an easy quip sliding off his tongue and the hacking implant finding its place on the underside of a monitor. Â
-
âWhen did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?â an agent asks.
âLast night,â Tony says, shrugging.
Captain Americaâs eyes, Steveâs eyes, slide to him.
-
Tony likes to play with fire, or thatâs what heâll let them think, as he pushes Bruce over and over again.
What he really knows is what itâs like to have something that steals away his freedom living inside him.
âHey!â Steve snaps. âAre you nuts?â
Possibly, Tony thinks, but instead of saying it, he keeps pushing Bruce.
âIs everything a joke to you?â
âFunny things are.â
Steve stares at him.
Tony banters with him, because Rhodey isnât there to stop him.
-
âBig man in a suit of armor,â Steve spits, eyes blue as glass and twice as sharp. âTake that off, what are you?â
A husband. A mechanic. A man. Â
âGenius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist,â Tony bites back, the words slipping from his tongue far too easy for half of them to be lies.
Steve scoffs. âI know guys with none of that worth ten of you.â
The worst part of it is that itâs true, despite what Rhodey says.
âAnd Iâve seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself.â
And doesnât that just cut, because no, Tony fights for Yinsen, for Rhodey, for the people his weapons killed.
âYouâre not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on the wire and let the other guy crawl over youââ
âI think I would just cut the wire.â
Because itâs easier to find a solution where he doesnât have to die, where he doesnât have to leave Rhodey alone.
âAlways a way out. You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero.â
âA hero? Like you?â And itâs from years of Howard, years of youâll never be like him, years of he was my best creation and youâre nothing but a boy, that give him the courage, or the resentment, to speak. âYouâre a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle.â
A bottle with a serum that Howard helped stabilize.
Steve doesnât look away, so Tony doesnât either, because Rhodey isnât there to change his gaze.
-
It hurts, when they lose Coulson, but not as much as it hurts when Fury tries to use it to manipulate them.
Tony leaves before he finishes talking.
-
Steve finds him.
Tony lets him talk, says what he wants to hear, until Steve asks, âIs this the first time youâve lost a soldier?â
It hits too close to home, and Tony aches for Rhodey.
-
Furyâs manipulation works. The Avengers assemble, a colorful team of people more broken than anything else.
Tony talks to Loki; showman to showman.
The entire time, his mind is on Rhodey.
Tony doesnât know whether to be grateful he isnât there, or fear that he doesnât know where he is. Â
-
And then it all happens too fast again.
Tonyâs flying into the wormhole before he knows it, because what he does know is that Rhodeyâs already on his way to New York, knows that the second aliens appeared in the sky, Rhodey was in his suit, and this is the only choice to make. No more cutting the wire.
âCalling Colonel Rhodes,â JARVIS says.
Tony doesnât take his eyes off the icon of Rhodeyâs face as it rings, and rings, and goes silent.
And then everything goes silent.
-
Rhodey sees Tony falling, sees his husband falling, and then he catches him, like he knew heâd have to.
Tony wakes up with his head in Rhodeyâs lap.
âHey,â he says, trying to keep his voice from breaking.
âYou idiot,â Rhodey says, and his voice does break.
âDid we win?â
âYou almost died.â
âYeah, but did we win?â
âIâm gonna kill you so bad, you promisedââ
âI love you too, honey bear.â
It doesnât matter who kisses who first, because theyâre kissing, and there are camera shutters going off, and the Avengers are staring, and there are people screaming, and itâll be all over the news in minutes, but Tonyâs alive and in Rhodeyâs arms, and that does matter.
(black or white, we're vivid color. after a while it all runs together.) our stained glass means nothing without light.Â
The town they stop in has a church.Â
It always comes down to a church, doesn't it, with them?
Itâs white, like they always are in these small towns, and Dean doesnât know why that hurts, but then he remembers the inky black of the Empty, the white glow of Casâs grace, and he slams on the brakes just before the light turns from yellow to red. He can feel Samâs eyes on him, but he keeps his on the cross that almost seems like itâs floating above the steeple, takes a breath in, tries to keep it from shuddering, fails.Â
The light turns green, and Dean wishes it was blue.Â
He turns the corner into the Gas-N-Sip, his grip on the wheel tight enough that he feels the rubber indents forming marks against his palm, red lines that will still be there when he lets go. He tries to stop himself from grasping harder.
âYou fill the tank, Iâll get somethinâ to eat?âÂ
Sam nods, and Dean doesnât have to turn to look at him to know that his brotherâs brow is furrowed, lips pursed, like heâs trying not to say anything, head tilted slightly to the sideâ
Dean gets out of the car.Â
The door to the Gas-N-Sip lets out a programmed bell sound as he walks inâartificialâand the employee at the register barely looks up, a blue vest the only thing Dean pays attention to before he heads straight towards the back, where he knows thereâs another door that lets out into a parking lot. Itâs all cracked pavement and shattered glass bottles, a half-empty Dumpster thatâs balanced precariously on three of its four wheels, folded cardboard boxes wrinkled from the light misting of rain that Dean feels against his cheeks, messy graffiti in bright blue paint on one wall that looks almost like a sigil if he stares at it for too longâ
The church is across the street.Â
It feels like it takes hours to cross it.Â
All three doors are locked, predictably, which he shouldâve expected when he came across the boards across half the windows, and only one isnât dead-bolted, luckily the one on the opposite side from Sam, whoâs leaning against Baby and checking his phone when Dean glances over. Heâs still got time.Â
Itâs not until it takes him four tries to pick the lock that Dean realizes his hands are shaking, the metal picks rattling against the keyhole loud enough that itâs hard for him to hear his own breathing, already so faint that the sound of the wind swallows it with one gust. A raindrop lands on his hand, and he finally hears the pins click open, the doorknob turning easily when he tries it this time. He doesnât bother pulling out the kit from his jacket to put his pins away, barely remembers getting it out in the first place, just shoves them into the back pocket of his jeans to get them out of his mind, to get everything out of his mind but one thingâ
The darkness inside the church is suffocating. A stained glass window above the pulpit is the only source of light, its colors dimmed with the gray light from outside, and Dean hears himself huff in what heâs trying to make amusement, what should be amusement, but can only be sardonic, before he realizes it.Â
Thereâs a creaking sound when he sits down in the first pew his hand brushes, and that too gets a huff, some type of forced humor, because he has to find it somewhere, doesnât he?Â
The noises feel thunderous in the empty room.Â
And when Dean starts to speak, itâs a hurricane; a torrent of words that echo louder than each raindrop on the roof, his bowed head the only shelter from the storm his voice creates.Â
âCas? You got your ears on?âÂ
The rain gets heavier against the roof.Â
âIâI donât knowâIâIâm sorry. I didnât know. I didnât thinkâwhy would you do that? For me, why would you do that for me? You stupid son of a bitch, how could you thinkâhow could you leave us? Noâno. How could you leave me? I donâtâyou canât keep sacrificing yourself to save me, you asshole, I can only get you back so many times. Because Iâm getting you back, Iâm gonna get you back, man. Iâm coming to get you, I always will. But you justâyou have to stop pulling this shit. I need youâI want you. I canât live without you, you fuckingââÂ
His voice doesnât just break, it shatters. Like glass, like ice, frozen water; his words have frozen up, the rain has come to an end, and he doesnât know what to say anymore, the tears on his cheeks drying up any words he had left.Â
When he licks his lips, he tastes salt.Â
He raps his knuckles against the bench, clears his throat, forces a word out, any word, because he canât just leave it there. âYeah. Yeah. Okay. Iâm coming to get you. Iâll see you soon, Cas. And IâIâll tell you when I see you.âÂ
I love you.Â
The words hang in the air. His promise, his declaration, his vow.Â
âWait for me, okay, Cas? Iâve got you. UhâCastiel.âÂ
Adding his angelâs name feels like an old habit, like itâs ten years ago again, before the first time he lost Cas, and it almost feels wrong in his mouth; itâs not who Cas is anymore.Â
You changed me.Â
âCas,â he whispers. âCas.âÂ
Itâs all he can say, anymore.Â
When he stands up, his eyes find the window. Itâs a kaleidoscope of colors, and he canât make out the design, but heâs drawn to the blue triangles around the edge, of course he is, a geometric pattern that doesnât hurt like the blue of every sign before; itâs a reminder of his promise, a reminder of his angel, and a reassurance, almost, as the sun breaks through the clouds, and he sees those same triangles reflected on the wall behind him, almost as bright, almost as blue, as Casâs eyes.Â
When Jim shows up outside Tony's door after a year of service, three years after a break-up that should never have happened, and two and a half years spent trying to be awkward friends, he's expecting a hug, and a kiss on the cheek, because Tony's like that.
He isn't expecting the baby balanced on Tony's hip with paint on his fingers, the same color of paint staining Tony's band shirt.
"Rhodey?" Tony breathes out, and there's...longing in his voice.
Jim kisses him.
In his defense, there's a baby in Tony's arms and Tony's hair is perfectly messy and his eyes are just as expressive as Jim had remembered.
He immediately pulls back, because baby means partner.
"Shit, TonesâI'm sorryâ"
"Why the heck did you stop?"
Jim doesn't have time to tease him for the censoring because Tony's kissing him again, and again, and again, until the baby babbles in between them, and Tony has to pull back to feed him.
-
His name is Harley, Jim finds out, and his mother isn't in the picture. Tony doesn't talk about him like he's a mistake, even if the event that caused him was, and he's so good with Harley that it's almost scary.
And Jim? Well, he's only human, and the love of his life his best friend has a kid, and Jim wants to be part of that family.