The Keeper of Infinity

Tony Stark(s)

Earth-575

June 24, 2016; 2.15 pm; Hospital in Germany

Rhodey found he couldn't open his eyes no matter how much he tried to; like his upper lashes were stuck to his waterline with glue. There was an overall air of dullness around him, as if he were seeing the world through blurred lenses. Except that he couldn't actually see the world because his eyes, for some unknown reason, would not open.

He was distinctly aware of a distant chatter going around him but irrespective of how much he focussed on that, he could not make out the words, as if his ears were covered with muffs that were filtering out the different voices to the point of inaudibility. Rhodey decided he didn't like the feeling.

There were also various hands poking and prodding from different angles at him, and holy shit! Was he kidnapped? Were they trying to kill him? Were they trying to operate on him? He could feel a sharp-like object near his legs and fuck . Was this how he was going to go in the end? Tony would never forgive him! He just knew! Even though he was a hundred percent sure it wouldn't have been Tony's fault — he couldn't quite remember through the fog of his mind just what had landed him kidnapped — but he was also more than a hundred percent sure that Tony would find some way to blame himself for it. His best friend was talented like that!

He could also hear some sort of beeping sound, which gradually increased in its frequency and so did the voices around him, becoming more urgent, more panicked. Was he truly kidnapped or was this a—

Rhodey blinked awake — well, blinked metaphorically within the depths of his mind while his eyes slowly fluttered open. The room was dimly lit, which was good because he didn't think his eyes could have adjusted to the brightness otherwise. The curtains at the windows were drawn as well.

It was hard to see anything in the lack of light but he could hear a beeping that could only come from a heart monitor — he had been to enough hospitals unfortunately to be able to tell — and he could make out a silhouette of a figure slumped in the chair on his bedside; the man half-draped over his legs.

A very familiar man.

It took only that second for his memories to rush back to him.

Thanos. Snap. Universe. Dying. Morgenstern. Multiverse. Shit .

Tony — dear Lord , Tony, his Tony, his best friend, his little brother, his Tony — must have sensed some sort of movement on his part because he suddenly sat up straight, alarmed and ready to fight, body coiled defensively as he scanned the room for any signs of threat which eventually relaxed when he found none.

He sighed and turned his gaze — his deep, very brown, very doe-like, very Tony gaze — on him and nearly jumped out of the chair when he found him awake.

"Rhodey!" He jolted forward, hands moving up to cup his face. "You—you're awake!" he breathed. A single tear welled up in his eyes and traitorously slid down his cheek, refusing to fade even as he tried to wipe it awake. "You're—Let me call the doctor!"

Rhodey lurched to get a grasp of his hand, holding it tightly as he allowed himself to bask in the familiar warmth enveloping him, in the weight pressing against him. This was real! This was real! He repeatedly chanted that line in his head like a mantra.

"Tony!" He sobbed with no shame. "Tony! God, Tony!" He beckoned his best friend, his brother closer to him, holding him tightly, ignoring the pain he felt in his shoulders to move without the support of his legs and the various noises Tony's back made as he stood in the odd angle.

This was real.

"I'm here, I'm here, Rhodey! You're fine!"

Yes, he was fine, because Tony was here.