Chapter Text
“Is this really a good idea, Tones?” Rhodey asks, flipping through the fat stack of paper in his hands idly.
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Tony asks, setting his third coffee of the day down, “Thanos kicked our asses and wiped us out, literally. If the Avengers weren’t busy having a pissing competition, running from the government or lost in space, we could’ve dealt with the threat immediately, instead of having to go on a wild goose chase bringing everyone together.”
“You mean assemble-?”
“I’ve removed that word from my vocabulary entirely.”
Rhodey chuckles and sets the proposal down, “Noted,” He says before he sobers, speaking carefully, “But are you sure this is a good idea?”
Tony sniffs dismissively, “Sourpatch, I know your legs aren’t what they used to be, but your ears are still functioning perfectly-”
“I meant, is this a good idea for you?” Rhodey reiterates, frustrated, “I mean, you’re talking about inviting back your ex fiancee and people who used to be your friends. Shit, Tony, I mean he almost-”
“This isn’t about me,” Tony says sharply before he calms, “That messy breakup crap is behind me. What I care about is my kids' lives and futures, and if that means inviting them back, then I can live with that.”
The pair have a long and silent staring contest, before Rhodey relents.
“Fine, alright, I can get on board with this,” Rhodey nods, tapping the proposal, “Doesn’t mean I gotta like it.”
“Trust me, Honey Bear,” Tony sighs, rising to his feet, taking his coffee with him, “I don’t like it anymore than you do, but I need to sleep better at night, and knowing my kids are safe will help my sleep schedule and stop me from strangling someone - probably you at this point.”
Rhodey huffs out a laugh, “I’d like to see you try, pipsqueak.”
He chooses not to comment on the shake of Tony’s hand when he grabbed the mug, Tony having walked over to his main desk within the lab to pull up a hologram of the proposal.
“Time and place, Honey, time and place,” Tony remarks, his tone light, eyes focused on the hologram.
Rhodey watches him from where he’s seated, eyes watching the tension brewing off Tony in ugly waves. He glances towards the physical paper stack of the proposal, before he rises to his feet and walks over to stand next to him, eyeing the hologram. The braces on his legs whirr with the movement, barely audible to his ears at this point.
“Alright,” Rhodey sighs, folding his arms, “Give me a run down.”
“Gladly,” Tony smiles, “FRIDAY, locate the terms and conditions of the Amended Accords.”
“Certainly, sir.”