Work Text:
One.
The death of Maria Stark—and to a lesser extent, the death of Howard Stark—left behind a somber wake that could not be dissipated no matter what anybody tried. And try the press did, constantly putting out stories about the hedonistic prodigy that took to partying shortly after his parents death, doing everything they could to beat the cash cow that was the demise of the Stark’s.
It left a sour taste in Rhodey’s mouth, knowing the suffering that his best friend was going through that propelled him into acting out in order to assuage the pain he was constantly feeling at the loss of his mother. See, what the press failed to realize was that despite all of Tony’s faults, he was still a person, and now he was a freshly made orphan. A momma’s boy without his momma.
*
Rhodey was left to witness Tony—small, broken Tony, who was too young to bear the burden of an empire—become the same thing he accused his father of being, the same thing that led to the death of his precious mother, a drunk; all simply because he wanted to forget for a single moment that he lived in a cruel world where he could never feel the embrace of his mother once again or hear her say that she loved him followed by that sweet smile she never failed to give him.
It broke Rhodey’s heart, having to constantly drag a drunken Tony away from frat parties because he could hardly turn away from the predators that tried to take advantage of him in his inebriated state. Having to carry Tony to bed because he passed out on the toilet in his intoxicated stupor. Knowing that no matter how hard he tried, he could never soothe the pain, the anger, the desperation Tony was feeling. Fearing that one day, Tony would OD.
*
And that day came. Rhodey was seated right next to Tony’s hospital bed, holding tightly onto his limp hand. Tears flowed down Rhodey’s face, falling freely on the white sheets of the hospital bed, as he took in the frail form of his best friend. His quiet sobs were echoed by the steady beep of the monitor, the only thing besides the weak rise and fall of Tony’s chest that indicated that he was alive for now.
From that moment on, he vowed to protect Tony at all cost.
Two.
Of course, Rhodey alone couldn’t stop Tony’s descent into alcoholism, but he sure tried his damndest to stop him from repeating his MIT days. Unfortunately and regrettably, Rhodey, being a Lieutenant Colonel of the Air Force, had other duties more pressing than his best friend. He couldn’t exactly monitor Tony all the time. Fortunately, he didn’t need to, thanks to JARVIS. And Tony seemed content with just pursuing a hedonistic lifestyle, at the expense of his reputation. Regardless, the general population, press included, continued to love and hate him.
*
Rhodey was promoted to Stark Industries liaison.
*
Rhodey accompanied Tony to a weapons demonstration for the United States army in Afghanistan.
*
Still feeling the leftover of the high he always felt after a playful argument with Tony—because whether Rhodey wanted to admit it or not, Tony was equal parts hilarious and infuriatingly stubborn—he witnessed the humvee that Tony was riding disappear from his radar. By the time his group arrived at the devastating scene that was the remains of the humvee and the dead soldiers that were assigned to protect the Stark heir, there was no trace of Tony left.
After a month of searching, the army deemed it hopeless. Tony Stark was dead.
Rhodey continued on searching, fighting against his superiors every step of the way. He wouldn’t give up. Not on Tony. Not on his best friend. His soulmate. He knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he was still out there. Alive.
Three months later, and he was pulling Tony into his arms in relief in the middle of the desert, surrounded by metal and scorching sand, the harsh Afghan sun bearing down on them, but all he could feel was the all-consuming relief at having found his best friend battered, but alive .
*
On the plane ride home, Rhodey did his best to ignore the fact that the hideout where Tony had been kept was merely a couple of hundreds of miles away from where he had been searching.
Rhodey swallowed down the guilt he felt at his own perceived failings. Maybe if he had searched hard enough, his best friend wouldn’t have a hole in his chest.
*
Tony had metal shrapnel inches away from his heart, and the bright light on his chest was the only thing stopping him from dying.
*
I am Iron Man.
Three.
The United States army desperately wanted to get its hands on the Iron Man suit, and they were doing everything in their power to obtain it, especially after Vanko’s little stunt in Monaco.
Rhodey did his best to warn Tony ahead of time, but his efforts seemed to fall flat in the face of Tony’s state. He didn’t need his own astute observational skills to see how pallid Tony’s normally tanned skin was, even under the dim lights that illuminated his workshop, which only seemed to highlight the dark circles under his eyes and the watercolor splotches of purples and blues that was the bruise on his temple. He reeled in shock, instinctively placing his hand on Tony’s shoulder –– was it to acquire Tony’s attention, or to ground himself, to remind himself that Tony was still alive? He didn’t know.
Tony pulled away from him, and he let him. But Rhodey still reminded Tony that he didn’t have to fight alone; he would always be by his side, whether he wanted him to be or not.
*
Rhodey found himself in Tony’s disgustingly pretentious birthday party beating the birthday boy himself down into the ground with the same, grey toned armored suit that he had created, frustration at having to witness Tony descent into alcoholism that only seemed to fuel his recklessness translating well into his punches.
He threw a sharp comment about keeping the suit over his shoulder when he was confident that Tony would pose no threat to anyone, most especially himself, before flying away.
Later on he would wonder why, exactly, Tony had gone easy on him.
*
Tony had been slowly dying an agonizing death from the moment he had placed a miniaturized arc reactor into his chest, palladium steadily poisoning his veins with every continued use of his armored suit, all while Rhodey remained unaware.
That was when he truly realized, with an anguish so thick that it almost choked him, that he couldn’t protect Tony from himself.
Four.
Rhodey had been on a mission on behalf of the Air Force that had prohibited him from making contact with the outside world when the alien invasion occurred. By the time he had gotten wind of it, Tony was already flying a nuke straight into a portal that led into the dark emptiness that was outer space.
Rhodey couldn’t do anything but watch as the portal slowly closed with no signs of Iron Man having made it back.
The time between the portal closing and him receiving news that Tony was okay was the most distressed he had ever felt.
Five.
Hindsight truly was 20/20, and there was no use in agonizing over what he could've done differently to change the present, but that didn’t stop Rhodey from berating himself for not having caught on to how little Tony’s teammates seemed to value him, even after everything that had happened over the years. And now Rhodey was paralyzed from the waist down, all because half of the team couldn’t compromise with 117 nations.
Regardless, Rhodey had no regrets, but seeing the guilt mar Tony’s features was enough to make him reconsider.
It was a shame that the drugs the doctor had given him hadn’t granted him enough time to try to assuage his best friend’s worries before he was plunging deep into a dark and quiet slumber.
*
Rhodey didn’t learn about what had transpired in Siberia until way later, and it was only due to Vision’s report coupled with FRIDAY’s camera footage.
He held back bitter tears at the unfairness of it all.
One.
I… am Iron Man.
Followed by a snap.
*
Rhodey made a valiant attempt at not breaking down in front of his dying best friend, gently cupping his face with his gauntlet-clad hand. He offered him the only thing that he knew for certain that would reassure Tony that he would be alright. He offered him a smile, despite the dread that sank into his stomach.
He couldn’t let Tony’s last memory of him be one of sadness, but he doubted that Tony wasn't be able to see the despair that had so clearly made permanent residence on his expression.
*
It was only at Tony’s funeral that he allowed himself the luxury of mourning his death, a single tear rolling down his cheek as he watched the electric blue hologram of his best friend.
In the end, Rhodey failed the one thing he promised himself he would do, all those years ago. And now, Tony was gone.