Work Text:
It was another long day, the sun long since vanished beyond the horizon. The tower that rose between the skyscrapers looked all the more imposing. With its futuristic style, it stood out from the rest of the cityscape. Like the surrounding buildings, all its windows were dark. All - except for a row near the top.
Behind those windows, loud, blaring music filled the air. The bitter-sweet smell of cold coffee hung in the air, various surfaces were littered with coffee cups - too many coffee cups to still be considering sleep today. The floor and workbenches were strewn with wrenches, hammers, stray cables, and parts of all kinds. In the middle of the chaos stood a car, looking completely out of place among the delicate prototypes of a highly functional smartphone, a smartwatch with improved battery life, and something that looked suspiciously like an EpiPen, taken apart into its individual components, the medication replaced by some sticky fluid.
In front of the car stood Tony Stark, bent over the engine, tinkering. He sang loudly along to ‘Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be‘. Dark shadows framed Tony’s eyes, and his hands trembled slightly as he worked aimlessly on the engine. His entire being spoke of a fatigue that ran deeper than mere exhaustion. Tony’s cheeks were slightly sunken, as if he hadn’t been eating enough these past weeks - and maybe, just maybe, he hadn’t.
Maybe someone would have noticed if he weren‘t living alone in the tower. But the Avengers, the very people after whom he had renamed the tower, were either on the run or nowhere to be found after the disaster that was the Sokovia Accords.
Pepper had asked for a break after their last fight - Tony couldn’t even remember what it had been about - but he knew the truth. Her patience had finally run out. She had lasted longer than he had ever expected, but in the end, it was always the same: He was more than most people could handle.
The only person who had ever proven him wrong was Rhodey, but he was so busy with the military that they barely saw each other. If at all, it was maybe every two months. And the last time? That had been five months ago.
Peter was juggling school and Spider-Man, which meant he didn‘t need Tony demanding even more of his time. People called Tony selfish, and maybe they were right - but a kid who already had too much on his shoulders didn‘t need him adding to the weight just because Tony was lonely.
As much as he wanted Peter around, he had to hold back. He had no right to claim his time.
A loud crash tore him from his thoughts. Dum-E had knocked over the coffee cups he had been trying to stack. Tony jerked his head up at the unexpected noise-
-only to slam it right into the raised hood of the car.
Swearing under his breath, he held his head as he turned to the robot.
“You’re so incompetent, you’d still find a way to destroy an empty, windowless room,” Tony snapped. “Maybe a community college could use you for experiments instead!”
The robot let out a sad whirring sound.
“Are you traumatizing your mechanical children again?” came an amused voice.
Unnoticed, Rhodey had entered the workshop and was now leaning against one of the holo-tables.
“One day, he’s gonna decide that he’d be better off there than with you, Tones.”
Tony tried to hide his surprise, but for a split second, his shock was evident. He hadn’t expected to see Rhodey. And now that he was here, Tony realized just how much he had missed him.
The music was still playing loudly, forcing them to practically shout their conversation at each other.
“FRIDAY, stop the music,” Tony ordered.
He took a large step over the shattered cups scattered across the floor - and promptly stumbled.
Before he could regain his balance, a mechanical arm steadied him. A quick glance to the side confirmed that it was Dum-E helping him.
Maybe he could stay after all. Sometimes the robot was actually useful. And if Tony was honest with himself, he did love the little guy.
Rhodey looked as if he had read his thoughts as he chuckled quietly.
As if nothing had happened, Tony smoothed down his clothes - not that it made a difference after hours in the workshop - and moved to stand besides Rhodey.
“How‘ve you been?” Tony asked.
Rhodey sighed before answering. That didn’t bode well.
“Well, first, let me just say, we’ve never had this many new recruits before.”
“Yeah, well, we live in troublesome times,” Tony commented. Rhodey simply ignored him, long used to his quirks.
“We’re struggling to give everyone proper training, even weeding out the unfit ones. I’ve had to give more lectures than I can count.”
Tony snorted. That was basically his job at SI ever since he stepped down as CEO; talking, giving speeches for hours on end. He had hoped to focus only on inventing, but he was, after all, still the face of the company.
“Oh, poor Rhodey, forced to use his words. Now you know what it’s like for me whenever I don’t show up for another speech,” Tony teased.
He couldn’t see it, but he was sure Rhodey was rolling his eyes.
“But that’s not why I’m here, Tones,” Rhodey sad with a groan. “I need your help.”
Oh.
Oh.
A sharp sting of disappointment shot through Tony‘s chest.
After all this time, Rhodey was finally here, and it was a work visit.
Given the late hour, Tony had assumed Rhodey had come just to catch up. But really, what had he expected? Who wanted to see him outside of work?
A terrible thought struck him.
Was this Rhodey’s way of showing that he was done with him?
His heart clenched painfully. Normally, Rhodey would address these things head-on, but Tony could be unpredictable. Maybe Rhodey just didn‘t know how to say it to his face.
His stomach twisted. He felt sick.
He needed to keep it together - at least until Rhodey left him alone again.
“Tony, are you even listening?” his thoughts were interrupted. He nodded absently, but Rhodey wasn‘t fooled and pressed further:
“Oh yeah? Then what did I just say?”
Tony hesitated, then shrugged before snapping,
“You need some piece of equipment that either doesn’t exist yet or needs improving. Just send me the details. I‘ll let you know when it‘s done. Now go, I have work to do.”
Rhodey froze.
And Tony - Tony recoiled. That was not how he had meant for those thoughts to leave his mouth. He could never get anything right. And now he had also managed to push away the one person who had always stuck around.
He could be such an idiot.
Rhodey had to stop himself from reacting. He hadn’t expected that. He had expected sarcasm, a witty remark. Not this bitter response.
Lately, he had put Tony low on his list of priorities. Time had slipped through his fingers, and before he knew it, months had passed since they last met. And now, after all that time of radio silence, he showed up just because the military needed something. He didn’t have to guess how that looked to Tony. Somehow, he had to fix this.
A glance at him let Rhodey know that Tony was already in a downward spiral.
“Tony,” he tried, placing a hand on his shoulder. Tony flinched away from the touch as if burned. When had Tony last been touched by a human being? Rhodey’s stomach twisted, his mind momentarily blank. How had it come to this? He had sworn he would never let Tony feel this lonely again.
But here they were. And there was only one way forward.
“If you keep this up, one day you’ll wake up and mistake a wrench for Dum-E!” Rhodey tried to lighten the mood a little.
Tony rubbed his eyes, then looked up.
“Probably more useful than Dum-E. And it would take up less space!” he snorted.
“At least would you give it its own name?” Tony pretended to think for a second, then said,
“Mister Twister. Or maybe Lord Wrenchington.” Rhodey let out a quiet laugh, but his expression quickly turned serious again. The worry was still visible on his face, and his eyes lingering on the dark circles beneath Tony’s eyes. Tony‘s expression, too, grew more serious.
“I’ve got everything under control, Honeybear. You don’t have to worry.”
“Tones, you know I’ll always worry about you. Especially when your only conversation partners are a robot and a wrench!”
The way Rhodey said it made Tony feel even lonelier in that moment.
“Well, at least they’re always there for me. They listen when I need someone to talk to.” Rhodey let out a humorless laugh, even though he really wanted to scream.
“When‘s the last time you slept?” Tony avoided his gaze, shrugged, and let his eyes drift across the countless coffee cups scattered about.
“Tones…”
“I have got a lot to do!” Tony defended himself. “There are always people with new demands, even when I need a break, and-”
He stopped himself mid-sentence.
“I can’t afford a break,” he whispered, his voice faltering. Rhodey slowly shook his head.
“You think you can’t afford one,” he replied softly.
For a moment, there was only silence. Dum-E continued to beep quietly as he worked, cleaning up the broken cups.
Rhodey pushed himself away from the table and stood in front of Tony.
“You don’t have to do everything on your own, Tones.” Tony laughed - a tired, humorless chuckle.
“Oh yeah? Have you seen how many friends I have left?” Rhodey met his gaze, steady and unwavering.
“At least one. And he’s standing right in front of you.”
Tony desperately wished he could believe him, but the knot of guilt and exhaustion in his chest tightened, making him doubt Rhodey’s sincerity.
Rhodey sighed and placed a hand on Tony’s arm. This time, Tony leaned into the touch.
“Come on, I’m not letting you sit here brooding any longer. Let’s go upstairs, make something to eat, and watch a movie.” Tony raised an eyebrow.
“Us? Cooking? That’s going to be a disaster.”
“That’s a risk we’ll have to take,” Rhodey countered. Tony looked at him for a moment, then a tired but genuine smile slowly made its way onto his lips.
“Alright, but I get to pick the movie. And if I fall asleep, you carry me to bed.” Rhodey returned the smile with a broad grin.
“Let me guess - we’re watching Die Hard?” Tony nodded.
“You know me too well.”
“Deal,” Rhodey agreed.