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“Dammit, Tony! You can’t just do this sort of thing!”
Rhodey was mad. He was really mad, but Tony just smiled broadly and hid behind his tinted sunglasses.
“Aw, come on, platypus, don’t be like that. So I got you a little extra time off, what’s so bad about that? I haven’t seen you in, like, seven whole months while you’ve been on deployment! We haven’t been apart for so long since graduation.”
His wheedling tone did little to quell Rhodey’s angry glaring.
“That’s what happens after college!” he railed. “You get jobs and you see each other less. It’s natural! You can’t just stick your nose into my life whenever you feel like it! Write me an email and we’ll set up a videochat but pulling me off my deployment by using your company’s influence on my superiors is crossing a line.”
Tony picked a spot just over Rhodey’s shoulder and stared at it resolutely to avoid looking at his friend’s face. His chest felt tight and raw, still aching from the things Ty had said when he left, the way he’d laughed in Tony’s face as he did it. He just… Tony’d needed his Honey Bear. And, yeah, maybe he’d acted a bit rashly and gone to an extreme, but he hadn’t known what else to do. He’d been too upset to think straight.
He knew, too, that he should just tell Rhodey that, tell him what happened, but his throat closed up at the thought of saying it aloud. Even if he knew it was ridiculous, the fear that Rhodey might not care, like Ty had said, still curled tight around his heart.
“I’d think you’d be thanking me,” he said instead, feeling like his mouth was another being entirely, bent on saying whatever the hell it wanted without any input from him. “An association with SI, especially with the CEO, will probably put you in line for a pretty sweet promotion before too long. I bet your superiors are scrambling right now to figure out how they can use you to get me in their pocket.”
“Are you serious right now? Do you honestly think-“ Rhodey stopped himself, eyes squeezed shut as he visibly tried to reign in his anger. “You know, sometimes I wish you weren’t my friend, that I’d never taken in that dumbass, loud mouthed, genius kid at MIT.”
The vice-like grip Tony’s fear had on his heart wasn’t enough to keep it together as it shattered to pieces.
“What?”
“If I get a promotion, I want it to be because I’m good at my job, not because you smiled and greased the right palms. I’m not riding your coattails to the top. This is exactly why I didn’t take that position you offered me at Stark Industries.” He reached down and picked up the duffle bag at his feet, throwing it over one shoulder. “Now, I’m going to go spend my new-found leave with my family. I’m sure my mom will be thrilled to see me. That’s all I stopped by to say.”
Tony didn’t stop him as he left. Three days later, when Rhodey called because he heard about Ty from Pepper, Tony didn’t pick up the phone either.