𝙰𝚗𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚂𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚁𝚘𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜

James Rhodes: Part 3

"I hate magic," Tony grumbled.

"Well suck it up, at least it didn't leave you glowing or blowing up," Rhodey rolled his eyes at Tony's pout.

There was no real annoyance in his husband's gaze though. This was more an argument against magic for breaking the laws of science.

"Fine," Tony huffed, throwing an arm over his eyes. "Maybe it was useful this one time."

"Such glowing praise," Strange drawled from where he was going over Tony's charts with Helen.

Tony abruptly turned and burrowed into Rhodey's chest, prompting the soldier to wrap his arms around the genius. He was still bedbound as his legs were stinging like hell as they recovered from being paralyzed. Rhodey didn't want to imagine how Tony was feeling if he was uncomfortable from it just being his legs.

"I can breathe," Tony whispered against Rhodey's collarbone.

Rhodey pressed a hand against Tony's chest, feeling only solid bone under the skin.

"I think this time we can give magic a pass," he murmured into Tony's hair.

"Maybe," Tony agreed softly.

"You two are sickeningly sweet. How did no one notice this before?" Strange rolled his eyes. "The people around you are idiots."

Rhodey was willing to give the rudeness a pass since the man had just literally saved Tony's life while changing nothing but his health.

"Fuck off," Tony grumbled.

"To be fair, you're very obvious with it all," Rhodey admitted. "I'm still surprised we managed to hide it this long."

He ran a hand through Tony's hair, relishing in the steady breaths he could feel the man taking.

"How?" Rhodey had asked when the man claiming to be a sorcerer said that he could save Tony.

"Time," Strange had told him. "His is running out. So we'll turn it back for him. For you both. Just your bodies and not your minds. You're going to need to be ready to face what's coming."

"Turn back time?" Rhodey had asked dubiously.

"What have you got to lose?"

Rhodey had looked down at his husband. "Will it have any side effects?"

"Beyond making you both look a bit younger, no," he answered.

"If this is a trick I'll shoot you," Rhodey warned, cocking the gun he'd had hidden under his pillow.

"That's fair."

Strange had twisted his hands around the amulet he wore, revealing a glowing green stone that reminded Rhodey of the Mind Stone in Vision's forehead. Then his world was drowned out in green.

Helen told him when he came to that it looked like they'd both gotten back at least ten years. Rhodey's legs burned fiercely as his brain struggled to process that the nerves were repaired.

And Tony...

Tony was off the respirator and breathing evenly. The bandages had been removed, his chest didn't look caved in anymore and the bruises and cuts were gone.

And his hands... They were whole again.

He was whole.

Strange had turned back time for their bodies to even before Afghanistan, taking away the damage from the arc reactor, from the Palladium poisoning, and the years of injuries from fights. The grey had receded from Tony's hair and he looked healthier than he'd been in years.

He'd opened his eyes moments later, hazy with sleep but aware and alive.

That was the point Rhodey broke and dragged his husband to his chest in a hug, sobbing into his hair. He'd been ready to grieve for Tony. He'd been ready to lose him before he betrayed his trust.

But he didn't have to.

"Rhodey?" Tony mumbled in confusion.

"Never again," Rhodey breathed. "I'm never letting that bastard hurt you again."

Tony had been quiet for a moment before he replied. "Okay," he'd murmured, melting into the hug.

Rhodey was the only person he ever let himself lean on. Ever since hiding the Palladium poisoning, he'd made Tony swear to never try and do it all alone again. So Tony let himself go limp in his husband's arms and stopped thinking about Steve's betrayal and the reveal of what happened to his parents.

He wouldn't be alone in dealing with it.

When Strange and Helen had come to the agreement that Tony was going to be perfectly fine, the pair snuck out of the hospital and boarded a Stark jet to head home.

Tony curled under Rhodey's arm as he told the man about what happened in Siberia. In return, Rhodey told him about what happened in the hospital and how their relationship was revealed to Pepper and Helen.

Tony closed his eyes in grief at hearing how easily Pepper was going to ignore his wish to remain baseline.

"I don't want Extremis," he whispered.

"I know," Rhodey murmured in reply. "I wouldn't let them do that."

Rhodey wondered if Tony's and Pepper's friendship would survive this. He doubted he could look at the woman without feeling anger towards her for a long time.

"Sorry about outing us though," Rhodey sighed.

Tony just shook his head. "I wish we didn't have to hide it," he admitted.

Rhodey knew that. They'd both considered telling the world the truth over the years but something always stopped them.

But now... Tony wasn't CEO of SI anymore. Rhodey was more tied to the Avengers than he was to the military. They'd both gathered a hell of a lot of political capital and public goodwill by siding with the Accords.

America would hate them, the whispers had already started. How dare they stand against Captain America? How dare they not follow him blindly? Rogers was losing his popularity with the younger crowd who grew up with more superheroes around but there was still a lot of support for him.

The rest of the world didn't have their Captain America blinders on though. They supported Tony's side loudly and vocally and were vicious in their outcry against the Rogues.

Rhodey leaned his head back against the chair, running his fingers through Tony's hair as the man dozed in his lap.

Maybe... Maybe it was time for a move.

A vicious smirk curled his lips. What country wouldn't welcome SI opening up a branch in their borders? With all the jobs and income it would bring most would be ecstatic. And if that came with Iron Man and War Machine moving in as well... well, that was just a bonus, wasn't it?

He was dying to see Rogers' face when he realized he was legally banned from entering the country Tony and Rhodey chose to make their home.