Tony was sitting on the stairs when Rhodey got there. He’d gotten some ice from the kitchen and wrapped it in a clean towel to press against the bullet wound in his side, but other than that, he’d just waited. He felt really tired. Not the kind of tired that was quickly solved with sleep, but a weariness that seeped right into your bones. Made you ache from inside.
“You alright?” James asked, stepping over the threshold and crunching his boots on the glass in the hallway, “What the hell happened?”
“The suit happened. I called it using the sub dermal sensors and it came the quickest way it could. Right through the glass. Apparently some of the smaller parts preferred the front door.”
“I can see that,” he said, assessing the damage and then pulling off the blood soaked ice bundle.
“No, you’re not fine. You’ve been shot, Tony. This - this whole thing - is not fine.”
“So says the Marine. It’s a through and throgh. Rho- it went through. Ow!” He winced as James pulled him forward and peeled off the wet material so he could get a better look. Sure enough, there was an exit wound, and a clean one at that.
“You’ll live, but you’ll need it looked at.”
“—You’re not a Doctor and I’m not your damn nurse.” He smacked his arm. “You’re going to the hospital."
He looked through to the living room. At the guy lying on the floor and sighed. Oh God, he sounded really disappointed.
“What about Casanova over here? Morgue or Hospital?”
Tony closed his eyes and swallowed dryly. “Hospital.”
He looked doubtful. “You sure about that?”
He nodded. “I checked. He’s still breathing.”
Rhodey did a slow full-circle turn amongst the wreckage of the fight. This was overkill by anyone’s standards.
Tony’s voice was barely above a whisper when he said, “He was going to take care of her.”
He shook his head. “Just something he said. Doesn’t matter now.”
“Look at me.” Tony followed orders and looked him straight in the eyes. Rhodey lifted his chin but apparently saw nothing worth worrying about and let it go.
He walked over to the body and pressed two fingers on his neck. “So what was this, some ultimate revenge for Jezebel?”
“Well you need to start working it out because the cops are going to want to know. You can’t just beat a guy senseless and expect them to give you a ‘Superhero handshake'. You don't get an Avenger's 'Get out of Jail Free' card. This is just you and him, two guys brawling it out.”
“I don’t think you do. I think this whole thing – New York, Pepper and the baby, Loki – it’s got you in a tailspin. You act like it doesn’t bother you but we both know it does.”
Tony opened his mouth to speak but Rhodey railroaded him, “I am trying to help you. If you continue on like this you’re going to lose her like you did Pepper. Is that what you want?”
Tony side-eyed him. Low blow. “What do you think?”
“What I think, is that you’re going to piss this all away because you can’t stay focused on the important things. I think yo--”
“-- You don’t think someone drugging her is important?”
“Yes, but I also think that the fact she survived is more important than you getting revenge. He--" He pointed down at the body. "--is no threat to you, you could have handed over the information to the cops and had them investigate it. This is not what rational people do, and this sure as hell isn’t any Tony I know.”
He was right. That’s exactly what he should have done, he should have handed him over to the authorities with the footage and had them lock him away. But knowing it, didn’t make it any easier to swallow and now the guy was lying unconscious on the floor.
“You're right. I just saw red,” he said regretfully. “I saw red and I just started punching. I don’t know – it feels like I’m always on edge these days. I just snapped.”
“I know. I’m worried about you.”
Rhodey pulled out his cell and started scrolling. “Firstly, you’re going to the hospital - without arguing. Then you're going to take your girlfriend on the date you keep promising her.
I'll make some calls, see if I can do some damage control in the meantime but they'll want to speak to you."
