Too Little Too Late

James Rhodes

Steve Rogers pull him back in the present asking stupid things. The captain was worried about the wheelchair on a daily basis but particularly in case of attack. He asked if Rhodes could still pilot the War Machine. This guy had no tact at all. Captain America forgot that once, he was a sickly boy. No, he wasn’t the pilot anymore. No, nobody could take his place in the suit, Tony had made sure of that years ago. The good captain and his team found that info to be so typical Tony. Selfish, big ego and all that jazz. Whatever. Rhodey had years behind him of smiling to stupid, he could do it again for 48 hours. Steve went on demanding the hole to be fixed as soon as possible. It was not good for team bonding and simply not safe for anyone. Would that hole make Vision realise that he was in an abusive relationship? The Avengers wouldn’t want that, would they? The android wouldn’t see anytime soon if ever. He was too infatuated with Wanda. It must have broken Tony’s heart. The last bit of Jarvis turning against him. Rhodes shuddered. Because, really, he did the exact same thing. Everybody did.

The team left to check out their rooms and belongings.  Everything was still there but truly Tony could have called the cleaning staff. The layer of dust everywhere was impressive. One-year worth, Rhodey thought. The U.N. people reminded them that Stark Industries had sold the compound to them and therefore it wasn’t Dr Stark duty to see to those things. Obviously, they would be provided with help for the common aeras but their rooms were considered private and as such the cleaning and maintenance were theirs. The captain, naturally, was all smile and agreement now. Funny that Tony had to pay for people to clean everything back then, especially the coffee grounds in the sink. It was difficult to watch how they settle back in as if they owned the place. As if they deserved the world. Maybe they did now. Not something he wanted to think about right now. Clint was talking about the lab and storming the castle or something of the kind. Team Cap was going down there whether he liked it or not.

Rhodey wanted to go to the lab and find Tony in one of his binge, working in the lab for three or four days straight. He wished then he would take him back to bed with a small smile. There was nothing he ever wanted that bad. The main part of him knew though. Tony was not there anymore. And anyway, Rhodey didn’t deserve to find him so easily. At this point, he just hoped that his little brother was somewhere on a beach having a good time away from everything. That was wishful thinking. The world didn’t work that way. Especially not for Tony Stark.

His mind kept on going to that last conversation. Tony was in a hospital somewhere in Russia. Rhodey didn’t even ask why he was there or how he was. He just lashed out. Everything was Tony’s fault. Maybe considering that he just learnt that he would stay paralysed from the waist down, being angry was sort of normal. He had needed to let everything out. That was friends do for each other. Tony would have understood. If only his lashing out didn’t go that far.  Bringing back M.I.T., telling that Tony had been a burden from the start. And if anything, Afghanistan proved that he wasn’t normal. A suit of armour to escape ok. But why building more after? Who does that? Of course, Tony had to get him involved. Without the War Machine, Rhodey would never have been in the situation he was. Worse of all, he actually said that he should have taken Captain America’s side, because at least he knew how to treat his friends. The conversation ended when he told Tony that he never wanted to see him again. Not a call, no face to face. Nothing. Ever. Again.

The last word was very small OK from Tony and the phone call went down. The anger stayed with him for a long time but it shifted along the way. He became mad at himself. He didn’t even believed half the things he had said if any at all. It was an accident. Nobody was dead set, that day, on fucking him over. Tony even tried to talk to the captain and his team, to make them understand. By then, half of them had actually international problems that were not accords related. Lagos wasn’t at all a well-done mission. People died. They had at least to give some answers about what happened there.

They all went down to the lab. Steve tried to order Friday for the lift but in the end they had to press a button like normal. Clint warned the A.I. to keep the doors open for them or else. Else what? What could the archer do against Friday? Who knew… The glass walls were opaque as if in lockdown. Steve tried the door anyway and it opened without a noise. They were all surprised and slightly unsettled to find the place empty. The bots were gone, the armours missing. All the work benches were gone if for one. Even the old and over used sofa wasn’t there anymore.

                “Seemed like he went sulking somewhere else.” Commented Clint before leaving.

The archer had never been the science kind of guy. Arrows and bows tailored specifically for him that’s all he wanted. Wanda followed him like she seemed to do most of the time. The committee soon followed with Wilson and Barnes. Natasha went around the lonely desk looking at what was on it. She tried to poke at the tablet and looked over the technology laying on the small table.  Nothing she was doing seemed to work as a result she quickly lost interest. Steve put a hand on his shoulder and looked at James like he was sorry for him. Really that guy was an arse.

Rhodey moved toward the desk. Tony had left that on purpose. People always said that the billionaire wasn’t thinking before asking. Nothing was further to the truth than that. As he approached, everything sort of came to life. Blueish screens popped up with schematics and operating instructions for some kind of braces. The directions were very clear. The surprise left place to too many emotions to count. Even with everything that he had said, Tony had found a way for him to walk again. To walk again! It could even be fitted in the War Machine amour so he could fly again. He had thought his life over and Tony made him whole again. Rhodey couldn’t contain the sobs anymore.

So many times, he had just wanted to pick up the phone, call Tony and apologise. He had been such a coward. The words wouldn’t come to him so he didn’t do it. Was it really that hard just to say sorry? Now, he was crying alone in the empty sanctuary of his little brother. Thankful, ashamed, sad and lost at the same time. His phone was vibrating in his pocket. For a second he hoped that it was Tony. Rodhey’s presence had woken up the desk, it could have send a signal to the genius. The caller ID was telling him it was Pepper. The little hope disappeared immediately. He couldn’t care less about her now or anybody else. It wasn’t Tony. It would never be Tony ever again.