𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐌𝐀𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 | ᶜᵒᵐᵖˡᵉᵗᵉᵈ

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞? ▸𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒍/𝒓𝒉𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒚

Rhodey moved around the Avengers' base like a body without a soul. There was no one else but him, everyone else was either with their friends or family. He, too, had considered spending the evening with Pepper and Morgan, and Pepper herself had even offered. At first, he thought he would accept her invitation. But as Christmas approached, he was suddenly beginning to realize that he wasn't really feeling up to it. He needed to be alone.

He knew that the first anniversary would always be the hardest and the saddest. Their first Christmas without Tony. Of course, they didn't celebrate it together every year, but that didn't matter. Even though the two of them were in different places, hundreds of miles apart, Rhodey knew Tony was out there somewhere, having fun. But now . . . nothing. Tony was gone, and sometimes Rhodey still couldn't believe it. How could Tony be gone? He could always do anything, always get out of anything, even if his chances seemed slim . . .

He sighed heavily and carried the dirty dishes into the kitchen. As he stacked the plates and cups in the dishwasher, a faint tinkle reached his ears, announcing the new message. Rhodey straightened up, closed the dishwasher, and turned it on before making his way to the room, where, to his surprise, a hologram shone.

"Hi, Colonel," the blonde woman said, giving him a cautious smile.

"Carol?" Rhodey said in surprise, frowning. "Did something happen?" The connection was always active, but no one used it after the destruction of Thanos. That's why Rhodey was a little disconcerted when the hologram came on and her face peeked out at him.

She sighed. "Yeah, this probably wasn't the best idea. Sorry, I didn't want to scare you. It's all right. At least, nothing to worry about here on Earth," she quickly assured him, and Rhodey nodded. They paused for a moment, looking away from each other. Something unspoken still hung between them. "Well, I just . . . wanted to . . . see how you were doing. And . . . if you need someone close."

"You really don't have to do this, Carol-"

"Hey, anybody at the door? I think I heard something," she interrupted hastily, seeing that he was about to sit down and continue their pitiful conversation. Rhodey gave her a puzzled look, but she just put on an innocent expression. At last, he shrugged it off and made his way to the front door, though he was sure he hadn't heard a sound. On the way, though, he pulled his gun out of his holster before walking down the hall and reaching the door. When he opened them, he froze in surprise on the threshold.

"Surprise," Carol winked, standing there in her brown leather jacket, her short hair falling to her forehead. She chuckled when she looked Rhodey over and stopped her eyes on the gun. "Is this how you greet visitors?"

Wordlessly, Rhodey slid the gun back from its holster. "How many more surprises do I have today?" he asked instead, stepping aside so Carol could come in.

"Well, I don't know, but I hope you haven't had dinner tonight," she replied, holding up a paper bag with the McDonald's logo on it. "I brought us some cheeseburgers."

Rhodey smiled ruefully. "I don't know if I love you or hate you."

She laughed. "Well, there are only two types of people in the world; one loves me, the other hates me. I hope you're at least somewhere in between."

"You know I'm not," he said quietly, starting toward the living room. Carol followed, trying to ward off the increasing nervousness.

"I'm an idiot, am I?" she muttered afterward, as Rhodey sat down on the seat and she put the bag on the table. "Cheeseburgers... Oh God, I'm sorry. I didn't get it, I-"

"No, it's fine," he said, waving his hand. Then he looked at her seriously. "Carol, what... what are you doing here? I honestly don't know what to think about this," he confessed, and she bit her lip. The two of them wanted to avoid this conversation, but they knew it couldn't be done. "After Tony's funeral, you disappeared right away, and I didn't even get a chance to have a normal conversation with you after all this time. I wanted to see you again. Not through a hologram, but face to face. Now all of a sudden you show up here and try to act as nothing happened . . ."

Carol sighed and hid her face in her hands for a moment. "I know, I... Rhodey, I'm sorry. I thought... I don't know. That you'd need to process it all. That you'd want to be alone. I wanted to give you space and time and... I'm sorry. I've been busy and ... I know I should have called." She ran her fingers through her short hair, and he thought it would drive him crazy.

"I missed you," Rhodey told her, despite wanting to be angry with her.

She chuckled softly. "I missed you, too. But I... God, I really can't walk in this. Me and relationships, it's a nightmare."

Rhodey had to smile. "Well, I guess it's a good thing we found each other because I'm just like you. But ... I guess I need to know what we're on." They've only really been together a few weeks. They had already felt sympathy for each other when they met. They understood each other. They were good together. One thing led to another, but then Carol had to leave. She was busy, and they saw each other only through holograms. That's why Rhodey hoped her to stay at least a few days after Tony's funeral. But when she disappeared without a word, it wasn't that hard to begin to overthink.

Carol walked slowly toward him, then sat on the couch beside him. She cocked her head to one side and studied his face for a moment before answering, "Well, I can still be your girlfriend if you want me to be," she said softly, smiling.

He chuckled. "Girlfriend from outer space. It's a different level of a long-distance relationship." He stroked her gently. "Not everyone can brag about this, can they? "Hey, Rhodes, where's your girlfriend?" "Oh, she's saving the universe. A normal Friday, you know."

She kept laughing. Then she looked at him, and there was tenderness in her eyes. "I really missed you," she said gently afterward, leaning toward him. He took her face in both hands and she leaned her forehead against his. "I'm sorry, Rhodey. I'm sorry I left you behind."

Instead of answering, he silenced her with a kiss. Finally. Both had wanted it for so long, though neither wanted to admit it. And for the first time in a long time, Rhodey felt as if he had finally surfaced and stopped drowning.

"There's something I have to ask you," he said as they pulled away from each other, and Carol snuggled against his chest. He put his arm around her shoulders and began to play with her hair. She looked up at him curiously. "Is the universe a priority for you, or am I?"

Her eyes widened in disbelief, and when he laughed, she gave him a light thump on the chest. "Hey! This wasn't fair. But you know, the universe has to be the priority. Because if the universe is in danger, so will our planet."

"Our planet?" he repeated with a smile. "Looks like Earth is your favorite among the planets."

She smiled and wrinkled her nose slightly. "You know," she crooned, raising her hand to stroke his cheek, "My love is here."