A little too tired of just hanging on

Chapter 03

Now that he was awake but in the obligation to stay in bed - God, how he hated that - Tony asked for a Stark phone. The doctors weren't too happy about that, their patient should rest most and foremost but they relented. Tony wouldn't hesitate to leave the hospital against their will. With that piece of his own technology, he would be able to contact Friday. Part of him still thought that Pepper should have brought him one, at the very least, to be able to contact Rhodey or Friday. The blond woman knew how important those two people were to him. She was probably thinking he needed to stay still like the people here. He had been wrong, she didn't know him. Tony was learning that, all genius that he was, he had been wrong more often than he cared to admit. He should know better by now.

Accessing his own server was easy. He had built them after all. Friday quickly came online onto his phone. The AI was young but she was already showing so many emotions. Tony could hear the fear and then the relief in her voice. If he didn't know better, he would almost see the tears running down his baby girl's face. It broke his heart. People around him, of flesh and blood or not, were always in harm's way because of him. They talked for a while, to calm each other down. Tony apologised a lot. Friday kept on telling him that it wasn't his fault. If only it was true.

"Baby girl, can you see if Rhodey is awake and able to talk ?" Tony asked softly.

"Yes boss. It seems that the Colonel is actually awake."

"Call him."

Tony's voice was unsure. The conversation was going to be difficult, he knew that. He wouldn't shy away from it, how hard it might be. His friendship with Rhodey was more important than his ego, than anything. Tony had a lot of regrets about the civil war. He should have done things differently. War Machine falling from the skies would forever stay ingrained in his mind.

"Platypus..." Tony said as the call connected.

"What do you want?" asked Rhodey, hardly.

"I..."

"What do you think I feel? You can't even come face me and what you have done! I won't walk ever again! I'm a military, I'm an active man, That stupid battle made me lose everything I had, everything I am! Everything! Did it even cross your mind when you went on fighting Captain America? No. You just need to be right! All the time! Do you even care?" shouted the colonel louder and louder as the words were falling from his mouth in anger.

"Rhodey..." Tony tried again.

"No you don't. You never did. They put me with you in MIT but they didn't think about me and my studies. You made everything harder on me. On everyone. Years later, you are still creating problems for me and my job. You only put your needs first. Is it so hard for you to be on time even once?"

Tony wasn't trying to answer anymore. That was not what Rhodey wanted or needed right now. The genius had no idea of what to say anyway. It felt like years and years of resentment finally being out. The injury had been the last straw on the camel's back. All those things should have been said before. Perhaps Tony could have changed then. Or maybe released Rhodey from his friendship.

"I used all my favours to find you in Afghanistan because it was my duty. You found a way out of that cave, good for you. But it's not normal. Building so many armours again and again, it's not normal. You are not normal, you hear me? Why did you have to do that and then get me involved? My life was more than fine before that!"

Tony had thought he was doing some good back then. That being said, the palladium poisoning was a bitch. Pepper wasn't happy with being his CEO. It was normal that Rhodey didn't like being War Machine. The genius had thought that those were the last things he would be able to give his friends. He tended to go too far, to do too big of a gesture. In all fairness, his friend wouldn't be paralysed if it wasn't for him, whatever way you would be looking at it. Rhodey had wanted the armour for the military, not for himself. He had given it to his superiors straight away. In other words to Hammer Industries and that was hurting a bit, even now. Hammer had butchered his fine work. Disgusting.