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Maybe it was one of Tony’s exes, because they still feel bitter, they still feel like Tony could never love anybody, and they got into leagues with some magic person and they decided on this, because if Tony dies now, it’s not even their fault, because it’s Tony’s fault for not loving someone, right? So they cast the spell, and they gleefully tell the team, and they know, they just know, that Tony could never love someone more than himself, and he is going to die, just like they want.
The team is frantic, they try everything, all the exes they can think of, they ask Pepper, for advice and a kiss, and they come up empty. The team tries it too, when they run out of hours, because maybe, somehow, one of them is the cure to this, but it doesn’t work.
And then Rhodey comes in, he abandoned a mission for this, and he is going to face hell probably later, but he can’t care, he doesn’t, Tony is dying and he was very nearly not there for it. And Rhodey comes up with a few more names, he knows Tony the longest after all, but none of them are working, around 20 people have kissed Tony now, and nothing is working, Tony is still sleeping and time is still running out for them.
So when they only have an hour left, and no more bright ideas, Rhodey asks to be alone with him, it’s his best friend that’s dying there, and also maybe the love of his life if he could ever get to admitting that, and he can’t bare this, he needs to be with Tony when it happens.
The team leaves them be, gives them space, and Rhodey doesn’t know what to do, he can’t lose Tony, this was not how it was supposed to be. But the minutes are ticking away and Tony is still not moving and waking up and Rhodey is just so hopeless and terrified and already grieving, so he slides into bed next to Tony and he holds him close and he kisses his forehead and lips and cheeks, because he figures it won’t hurt, maybe Tony can feel that someone is there with him, maybe it’ll make it easier for Tony.
But then suddenly Tony moves, sluggishly, like he really is just waking up, and instinctively knowing that he is safe, curling into Rhodey like he always does when they wake up like this, and Rhodey doesn’t understand for a second what is happening, it just doesn’t process, because they are best friends, right, Tony never made it look like he was feeling more for him. But then again, Rhodey never let it show either and before Tony is even really awake, Rhodey is crying, he got so close to losing Tony, so close, and now he got him back and maybe will get even more and Tony is all confused, because he doesn’t really remember what happened.
Rhodey gets his control back really quickly and he explains it and Tony is blushing right then and there and it’s the most adorable thing Rhodey has seen, not to mention that Tony looks alive like this and he kisses him again, and again, and Tony squirms and laughs and presses into Rhodey’s kisses and they don’t even notice that the others came looking for them at one point.