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The first time you notice something is wrong is after you take a piece of the birthday cake the boys have so lovingly baked for you.
Minutes after the bite and the sweet, sugary taste in your mouth, you throw it all out in the bathroom, crouched down on the floor.
When you open your eyes, you see blood in the toilet.
Someone knocks on the door. "Y/N?" It's Natasha. "Are you alright in there?"
"I'm okay," you yell back, pushing yourself up, and frantically searching for some kind of spray that can get that awful smell away.
"Are you sure?" Natasha shifts on her feet, and you can already imagine her brows furrow in worry.
"One hundred percent," you say, and then you get caught in an awful coughing fit. You clamp a hand over your mouth, and when you draw it away you can only watch in horror as the blood drips from your hand.
"Y/N?" Natasha asks again. You quickly shake your head and turn away from the door.
"Just give me a minute," you say, "I'll be right there."
When you come out, she's waiting for you in the hallway. She looks worried, but as soon as your eyes lock, she smiles and the worry fades away from her face.
"Come on," she says. "We can't enjoy the party without you."
She swings an arm around your shoulders and guides you back to the living room, where all the Avengers are still sitting.
They're either laughing or talking amongst each other quietly. Steve and Thor are in a remote corner, talking softly with each other while taking turns sipping from Thor's flask with mead.
Bucky is on the couch, with Clint on the ground in between his legs, and he's talking to him about Steve before the serum. They're laughing.
Carol and Valkyrie are on the balcony together, and no one wants to interrupt those two, because they are scary when they are mad.
You smile when you spot Wanda and Vision huddled together on a couch, and Bruce and Loki not far away from the couple, animatedly talking about science.
That leaves Tony and Rhodey, who are by the bar with Shuri, Bruce and T'Challa.
The two Wakandans have been here for over a week now, and it seems that they don't want to leave. T'Challa will have to, eventually. Duty calls for a king, of course. But Shuri will want to stay. She and Tony have formed an amazing friendship and have bonded over science and their research.
Natasha leaves you to sit next to Bucky, and you step forward, towards the bar.
The laughter and chatter makes you feel warm inside. You're a family. After everything you've been through, that's the least the team deserves.
"Hello beautiful," Rhodey greets you with a kiss on your temple. You lean into his touch, and relish in the warm feeling that spreads in your chest as he wraps an arm around your waist.
Shuri and T'Challa smile, and say they have business elsewhere, before taking a leave with Bruce.
Tony grins warmly at you. "I will leave the two of you alone for a while," he says, and he walks away. You smile and turn so you can face Rhodey.
"How is your birthday so far?" He asks you, and you caress his cheek while carefully studying his features. "It's amazing," you answer truthfully. "It feels like I'm celebrating it with my family instead of only with my friends and colleagues. That's something that not every superhero has."
He leans forward to peck your lips. "I'm glad you like it." He whispers, and then he captures your lips in a deeper kiss that makes you close your eyes and feel butterflies in your stomach.
Rhodey, Carol, Valkyrie and Natasha leave for a mission in Uganda the following weekend, and Steve, Bucky, Clint and Sam take a well-deserved break in Malibu, which leaves you in the Compound with Tony, Bruce, Wanda, Vision and Thor.
Tony and Bruce spend most of their time in the workshop tinkering, while Thor just eats pop-tarts and spends his hours watching videos on the internet. Where Wanda and Vision are, you don't know.
You descend to Tony's workshop one afternoon, with a mug of tea in your hands.
He's trying to piece together a new arrow for Clint.
"It's eco-friendly," he explains when he notices you watching, "and they're lightweight. I'm trying to experiment with thinner shafts."
He puts the shaft away and takes a new one out of a large box.
Bruce is putting files away in the computers humming along to the soft music F.R.I.D.A.Y. has no doubt put up for him.
"Hey," Tony says after a few minutes, when you've sat yourself down on a couch, "why don't I make something for you?"
You look up from your mug, to see his eyes gleaming with delight. Your thoughts whir back to the moment you choked out blood in the bathroom, and the following blood-stained papers in the bin that you so desperately try to hide from Rhodey.
You quickly shake your head. "It's sweet of you to offer," you say softly, "but I don't need anything new. My gadgets are fine as they are now, and my suits are in a good condition."
After that, you quickly drink up your tea and go upstairs. There are questions swarming in Tony's eyes, and you are not in a mood to answer them.
Bruce catches up to you just before the elevator doors close. He pants, and then presses the button to the communal floor.
You raise an eyebrow. "Got somewhere to be?" You ask him, keeping your tone light and airy. He smiles softly at you. "F.R.I.D.A.Y. said that Thor is calling for me. I'm here to help." You offer him a sweet smile before the elevator dings.
You already step forward, and then there is a terrible itch in your throat, and you begin to cough. You quickly cover up your mouth with your hand, but when you pull it away, there is blood all over it.
When you look up, you catch Bruce's horrified expression.
"Y/N..." he says, slowly. You shake your head. "Don't- don't tell anyone," you say softly, "please." You give him a pleading look before turning around and walking towards your room.
The third time something happens is in the shower, only a few hours away from the guys coming back from mission.
You've been feeling down all day, and you've stayed in bed instead of taking a run, and you have skipped food all day. It's not wonder you're feeling a bit light-headed when you step into the shower.
The hot water runs down your back, and you sigh in relief, closing your eyes.
Then, the world around you begins to spin, and you lose your balance on the slippery floor. You shriek, almost falling backwards, before you can grab an edge of the wall that was made to put soap bars on it, and steady yourself.
You sigh deeply, before turning off the shower and stepping outside. You grab a white towel and start to dry your face. When you hold the towel in front of you, blood stains it. You look up to the mirror, and your eyes widen when you see the blood trickle down your nose.
"Oh shit," you groan. You had never expected it to go this fast.
Before you know it, you sway on your feet, and your legs give out. It hurts when your head hits the floor with a thud, and then everything fades to black.
When Rhodey, Carol, Valkyrie and Natasha leave the Quinjet and enter the building, it's silent inside. Normally, they would have been greeted by Thor's booming voice, welcoming them back, or Bruce's soft smiles to congratulate them on clearing another one.
Now, there's nothing. Thor doesn't seem to be anywhere, and after acquiring F.R.I.D.A.Y., Valkyrie finds out that the others aren't there either.
"Where are they?" Rhodey eventually asks. He's calm. It's probably nothing bad. They might even have a mission report, or some sort of meeting. If it was something important, they would have called. Right?
He's worried about you. Before he left on the mission, you'd been distant. He felt like you had been hiding something from him, but figured when the time was right, you would tell him.
But for now, he settles on a hot shower and a change of clothes.
Everyone is surprised when Pepper bursts through the doors. She looks a bit dishevelled, and is panting, as if she's come all the way here by running. Rhodey gives her one look and he already feels a cold hand tightening around his heart. She gives him a sorrowful look. "It's Y/N," she says softly. He is ready to storm out the doors, but she holds him back, her hand on his chest, and looks him in the eye.
"James," she says, and he knows something is very, very wrong, because Pepper never calls him James unless someone died, "I need you to be calm. Tony is freaking out in the hospital. Wanda and Thor are trying to calm Bruce because they are afraid he's going to Hulk out. If you storm in there like a tornado, it's not going to help anyone."
He nods jerkily. She offers him a sad smile. "Happy's standing outside," she says, "just get in the car. He'll drive you. I'll come after you with the others and I'll call the boys in Malibu."
When Rhodey steps out of the elevator with Happy trailing behind him, he can already hear Tony's erratic breathing and soft hushed voices telling Bruce it's alright.
He sees Tony sitting on a chair, head in his hands, with Vision next to him.
"What happened?" He asks, and his best friend looks up. A vein in his eye popped - an indication of stress - and he looks like he has just cried his eyeballs out.
Tony just shakes his head and buries it in his hands again.
Rhodey frowns. What's wrong?
When he looks up, all the air that is still in his lungs leaves.
Across from him is a window, through which he can see a hospital room. You're laying on a bed, connected to several tubes. There are nurses all around you, and doctors talking, and Rhodey wonders if all the sounds fading to the distance means he's going to faint.
Then a warm hand connects to his shoulder.
"Rhodey." It's Carol. Her voice is warm and comforting. He turns around, and swallows.
"Tony tried everything. He pleaded with the doctors to do anything to make sure she makes it, and he's willing to give up his fortune for it." Carol clears her throat. "But it's no use. She's...." it feels unreal. Rhodey can't even hear what she's saying. He only sees her lips move, and he sees the incredible sorrow on her face.
He doesn't notice he's crying until he lets Tony hug him, and he clings to his best friend as if he is a life line.
They don't speak.
You only have a few hours left. Everyone says their goodbyes. You're already so far gone you can't even register them. Every two minutes, you have a coughing fit that results in blood, and you're already pale and cold.
When it's Rhodey's turn, he takes your hand. "I wanted to ask you to marry me," he whispers. "I wanted to have a life with you." You turn your head to face him, and he chokes back a sob. "You should have told me," he whispers, "I could have helped."
For a minute, he doesn't know what else to say.
"I love you," he then says, looking up at you, "I love you. And I will never stop."
When the last breath leaves your lips, Rhodey can only watch while tears stream down his face.
"It wouldn't have mattered," Bruce says later, and Rhodey needs to gather all his energy to make sure he doesn't hit the scientist. "She would have died anyways. She knew that. I think she just wanted to enjoy the last few days with us."
They stand in the hallway, silent.
Rhodey doesn't look, but he knows people are crying.
You were loved. You are loved.
The world has to say goodbye to more than just an Avenger.