Echoes

“I came to the realization that instead of cramming every single one of my innovations into one overpowered Mark that I could create different Marks that served different purposes.” Tony began, stirring the ice in his rum and coke with a thin red straw. Usually he was more of a single malt scotch guy, but rum would be easier on his stomach.

Sitting at a worn table in the far corner of a dimly lit bar Tony Stark felt much more like his usual self. There was no longer any fear gripping his lungs, no strange flashes of terrifying memories on the back of his eyelids. When he blinked now all he saw was darkness and it comforted him. Sitting across from him the handsome, dark skinned, military man with short cropped hair held his vodka and sprite listening intently. Rhodey had always been an excellent listener which had been part of why he’d managed to stay friends with Tony for so long.

Tony Stark was a talker. The sound of his own voice brought him more joy than it did to most. There was nothing he could change about that. He’d spent his entire life with people hanging on his every word. Little did Tony know as he took a sip out of his simple but respectable drink, Rhodey was not only listening to him; Rhodey was judging him.

Even if Tony felt more like himself Rhodey could still tell that something was amiss. The way Tony talked about creating an army of Iron Man suits concerned him. He’d always referred to them not as a weapon but as an extension of himself. Now it seemed as though Tony was preparing an arsenal for some sort of inevitable cataclysm. What unseen enemies did Tony Stark think he had to ward off? His life had been relatively peaceful after the Battle of New York, or at least Rhodey thought it had been. Then again, Tony hadn’t really talked to him much about what had happened in New York or what had happened afterward. Either way, Rhodey knew that something was up and planned to get to the bottom of it.

Even if Tony was as stubborn as a mule when it came to asking for help it didn’t mean he should go without it. Rhodey was there for him through thick and thin and this time would be no different. It might take awhile to get Tony to trust enough to talk about what had happened, but Rhodey knew better than most how to handle him. He suspected that his friend was suffering some post traumatic stress. Getting Tony to admit that wouldn’t be easy.

“There’s no need for deep sea capabilities in suits I plan on only taking into the desert. Just like there’s no need for stealth on suits designed to lift enormous weight. So I figured that if I make a variety of them for different occasions it would be handier. Plus, I could expand upon the other ideas that I have, in the past, glazed over because the technology would be too bulky for the older Marks. I would, of course, still have my multipurpose suit that I would rely on in a pinch but there would be these specialty suits for when I am purposely heading into dangerous territory.” Tony seemed proud of himself. No one listened to his advancements anymore these days and it felt good to talk about them.

“So you’ve created your own army then, hmm?” Rhodey was only half joking. There had been a time where Tony had been brought to court to address the fact that he owned unregistered weapons technology. Rhodey was worried they were going to end up in front of another judge and make more enemies with more politicians if things continued on this treacherous path. Tony had enough enemies as it was, he didn’t need any other senators with a hard on for him.

“Not an army.” Tony quickly corrected with wide eyes. “Why does everyone always assume I’m preparing for war? I happen to be overly creative.”

“Well gee, Tony, I can’t think of a single reason why anyone would be under that impression.” Rhodey chuckled and Tony promptly rolled his eyes and tapped his fingers on the table anxiously.

“They’re more like tools, really. I’m not building bodyguards or soldiers, I’m building… well it’s kind of like a Swiss Army Knife. You know, there’s a bunch of different tools in there. You wouldn’t use a screwdriver if you had a corkscrew to open a bottle of wine, would you? Why would I use a suit with super flight capabilities when what I need to take care of is in Malibu?” Tony hoped this example would explain his line of thinking. In reality, Tony kept building suits because he hoped they would eventually make him feel safe. So far, that wasn’t working as well as he had hoped it would. When he thought he’d finally done it he’d wake up the next day in a cold sweat, lying on his lonely couch and wondering how he’d take on a new threat that had popped into his mind. It had become a vicious cycle.

“Yeah, I get it.” Rhodey placed his hand to his chin thoughtfully and watched as Tony continued on about one of his suits. He’d stopped listening. Something was still off about Tony despite his enthusiasm. He’d always bragged about his latest innovations but he’d never had to justify the means behind them before, at least not to Rhodes.

“For my latest suit I’ve been trying to devise a new method of communication. I mean, how it comes to me that is…” Tony cleared his throat and furrowed his brow, thinking of the suit that lay in pieces in the corner of his basement. He’d been working on it when he’d come up with the idea for his anti-gravity device. “If I could summon the suit to me piece by piece then it’d be much more convenient than having to keep it close by at all times in case of emergencies.”

“Remember the days you used to go out without it entirely?” Rhodey posed the question but Tony obviously hadn’t been expecting that. He couldn’t remember the days he went out without his suit to protect him if things quickly got out of hand. It hadn’t been that long ago, it seemed, but he’d barely gone out, nonetheless without his suit, since he’d moved back to Malibu.

“That’s what I’m trying to make happen. That thing is heavy. Life is too crazy not to have it at the ready these days.” Tony knew what Rhodey was getting at but was hoping to avoid the subject altogether if possible.

“You know that’s not what I mean, Tony. You used to leave it at home and keep it separate from your social life. You’ve become the suit, it seems. When are you going to cut the cord? We’re not at war and your enemies have stayed in the shadows for now so why do you have to bring the damn thing with you to lunch?” Rhodey nodded toward the car in the parking lot where he was sure that Tony at least had the Mark V Iron Man suit that folded up into a convenient suitcase. There was once a time where Tony wouldn’t even have considered bringing the suit with him on a quick errand.

“I’m trying to prevent the unpredictable but still live my life, Rhodey.” Tony argued.

“Are you?” Rhodey leaned his elbows on the table and Tony rolled his eyes in response.

“Of course I am.” Tony took a sip of his drink. “I’m Iron Man now, I have responsibilities. But you’re right. I don’t want to carry the suit around with me everywhere I go. I want to be able to go out with my friend and get a drink but still know that if, god forbid, something happens, I can have it with me again at a moment’s notice. It’s about responsibility, Rhodey. Don’t make it something it’s not.” Tony hoped that would keep the questions at bay. Rhodey seemed somewhat placated for the time being and nodded his head. “But enough about that. If you’re curious about what I’m working on then you should come over sometime. Take the new toys for a test drive and see if you want to update the Warmachine with anything after that. You are living and working in outdated technology my friend.”

“I’ll take you up on that sometime. Unfortunately the Warmachine is all tied up in bureaucracy. I have to approve any changes that are made and you’d likely have to reveal all your secrets before you did anything to it. Now you know why I don’t come knocking in the suit.”

“You see, this is precisely why I didn’t want to sign that contract the military offered me after the ordeal with Stane.” Tony smirked, sipping his drink and cocking an eyebrow. He surveyed the dining area of the bar. There were few other people there at this hour. A couple of pretty women sat across the way, having a few drinks and a few laughs, paying them no mind. Men were lined up at the bar to get an afternoon drink to take the edge off either after a rough day or before a rough evening. He’d never been to that particular bar before, that he could remember, but he was immediately fond of it.

The bartender and their waiter had recognized him but hadn’t made a big deal over it. That was the way he preferred it, particularly when all he desired was to have lunch with Rhodey, not fight off a paparazzi swarm. They would surely ask him where he’d been and try to address the rumors that were swimming around in the papers because of his absence. Tony used to love reading the absurd things that were printed about him, but now he couldn’t stand it and tried to avoid it.

“Enough about work.” Rhodey sipped his drink and watched his friend eagerly as he considered his next words cautiously.

“I agree entirely, we’ve discussed far too much of it. And I for one believe that alcohol and work never mix.”

“Well, that was a bold faced lie.” Rhodey practically snorted into his drink.

“It was, I don’t know how I said it with a straight face.” Tony smirked playfully.

“Right, right…” Rhodey laughed, glad to see that his friend still had a little bit of the spark left inside of him that had faded considerably in the last year. “So, are things okay? Outside of work that is.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t I look fine? As handsome as ever.” Tony gestured to himself, his finely trimmed goatee, his short cropped but still somehow untamed hair, the expensive clothing he wore, and the physique he kept strong and at the ready just in case something happened.

“No, I don’t mean any of that. You’re obviously okay but… I mean: are you really okay? Are things okay?” The way Rhodey asked the question revealed his hand. Tony instantly winced and betrayed any lie he would tell. The confidence he’d displayed only seconds ago gave way to apprehension. When he didn’t respond, mostly since he couldn’t think of an answer, Rhodey continued. “I asked Pepper about you. You haven’t been yourself lately. She said you were fine. But Tony, I know you. You’re not fine. Things are not fine.” Tony couldn’t believe that Rhodey read him so well. Or maybe he could believe it. Rhodey was Tony’s oldest friend and if anyone could tell that something was wrong with him, it was Rhodey. Tony had expected it to be Pepper, but he was learning that things were not as he had expected them to be on that front.

“Nothing’s been the same.” Tony shook his head, feeling a chill go through his entire being as he said the words out loud. He hadn’t admitted that something was wrong to anyone, not since he’d tried once to tell Pepper about his night terrors and had been banished from his bedroom. His skin broke out into goose bumps but he chose not to react to them. Rhodey was already worried about him, he didn’t want to make it worse. “Ever since everything with the Avengers nothing has been the same.”

Rhodey had the feeling that whatever Tony was experiencing had something to do with the Avengers and what had happened in New York. But Tony realized as he spoke that it was more than that. It wasn’t just the events in Manhattan that had left him rattled but how things had played out after them that had really shaken his foundation to the core.

“What do you mean?” Rhodey was surprised that he’d gotten anything out of Tony to begin with. It was obviously against his better judgment. He could see that Tony wanted to understand what he was going through. That had to be a good sign.

“Pepper’s changed.” Tony shrugged. It was the first time he’d said that out loud too. Even when he’d thought it he’d rejected the notion. Pepper Potts had been the only stable thing in his life for years and now that he needed her to be his rock she wasn’t. It was something he could no longer deny. Their interests no longer lie in the same things. He kept putting off dealing with the Pepper situation until he could get his sleeping habits under control. In fact, he’d put it off until he could regain control of any kind in his life. But it hadn’t been as easy as he had hoped it would be. Instead, things had spiraled out of control and gotten worse. The situation with his girlfriend had compounded his efforts to recover from what happened with the Avengers.

Tony had become a shell of the man he was. He was beginning to wonder if he would ever recover or if this was the way his life would be from now on. Seeing what he’d seen in the portal created by the Tesseract had scared the hell out of him but was that really what had left him scarred? Tony wasn’t sure he’d ever know the truth. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to think about it long enough without losing his wits. It might be impossible to unravel what was going on within his heart and his mind.

“She hasn’t changed Tony.” Rhodey began warily. He’d known the two of them for years but he’d seen Pepper more frequently than he’d seen Tony recently. “She’s still the same woman she always was.” Tony was awestruck by Rhodey’s words and how simply he said them. Was it true? Was Pepper still exactly the same woman that she’d been before what happened in New York? If that was right then what did that mean for him? Maybe he had never seen the woman Pepper really was to begin with, not that this reflected negatively upon him. Tony had always been too caught up in his own selfish endeavors to care what Pepper’s personal life had been like back then. For years she had been cleaning up his messes and that’s all that he cared about. If this was the woman that Pepper truly was and they didn’t make each other happy then what did that mean?

The implications were astounding.

“I think this might have been a mistake.” Tony looked down at his rum and coke that suddenly seemed less appetizing. He used to drown his overly complex thoughts in alcohol but now it only proved to make his stomach upset. He knew he had a problem when even alcohol didn’t make him feel better. Where was Tony supposed to find comfort if not in the arms of a woman or in the bottom of a bottle? The answer was that there was no longer any comfort to be found. That scared the hell out of him.

“Why is that?” Rhodey was contemplative. If Tony wanted to talk without being prompted he wasn’t going to stop him.

“I think I was scared to be alone after Afghanistan… After the Avengers.” Tony felt another surge of a chill go down his spine and had to tap his leg to keep from shaking it off. He rapped his knuckles against his arc reactor to let Rhodey know he meant the incident that had made him Iron Man in the first place. “Someone in captivity told me that I was the man with everything and nothing. It was true and it freaked me out. I wanted to be more than what I was which I found out was nothing. Pepper was there. I hadn’t realized how much she did for me or what an ungrateful jerk I was for a really long time. How that spiraled into this I don’t know. I think I did it so I wouldn’t be alone. I want her to be happy, Rhodey. I want to be happy too.” It was obvious to them both that Tony was definitely not happy. Hell, he wasn’t even himself. This hollow person he’d become was someone he didn’t like to be around, not at all. He used to have fun no matter what he was doing. Now he felt barely alive.

“I didn’t realize that, Tony.” Rhodey had suspected that what had happened to Tony in captivity had reached beyond the damage done to his body but Tony had never talked about it. Tony was never much the type to linger on his feelings but he’d let his past trauma build for too long. Now it was catching up with him and he had absolutely no idea how to deal with it.

“The problem is now that I’m scared again, I guess. Not scared but…” Tony looked past Rhodey and to the television that was turned to the news. The afternoon stock ticker ran across the bottom of the screen so his eyes followed the colors to keep his thoughts in check. He couldn’t make out the words but it gave him something to focus on so the panic wouldn’t overwhelm him. And even then, Tony didn’t feel panicked. He felt mostly sad. “I’m afraid I screwed up. Pepper’s a great woman, a wonderful woman, but we don’t seem to need the same things right now. She needs me to be someone I’m not, someone I never was. She needs me to be someone I never aspired to be.” Tony grimaced at the harsh reality he’d barely been coming to terms with.

“Then let her go.” Rhodey shrugged his shoulders. Tony looked appalled at the suggestion. He couldn’t just break off the relationship like that, not as simply as Rhodey made it sound. Could he? Was that an option? He’d broken up with plenty of women in the past, actually more women than most men had experience with in a lifetime, so why couldn’t he do it with Pepper? It was because she was also his assistant and his friend. He’d never dated friends before. He’d always thought it was a bad decision given his track record. Tony had so few close friends, he didn’t want to lose any of them. In a way, hadn’t he already lost Pepper and Happy?

“It’s not that easy, Rhodey.” Tony wiped the condensation off of his glass, struggling to keep his hands still as he often did. Sometimes Tony had to keep busy or he’d become restless. For the time being he had to keep busy in order not to over think their conversation. If he panicked in public, if what he had suffered even was panic, then it would only give him more cause for worry. Tony wasn’t quite convinced that what he’d experienced was a panic attack yet. He was going to talk to a doctor to see if perhaps there was something physically wrong with him before he resorted to that. Maybe he was getting sick. That was the only thing that made sense to him. Tony needed something tangible, something he could fix.

“Why not? It seems that easy to me. You’re not happy, she’s not happy, so break up.” Rhodey’s no nonsense attitude toward relationships surprised Tony. He had always thought that he was the one to make rash decisions with women. But maybe the decision wasn’t rash, maybe Tony was making excuses because he was afraid of dealing with the fallout of what would happen if he was no longer dating Pepper.

On top of that, he was realizing now how right Rhodey had been about everything. Pepper was the same woman. She’d never liked that he’d become Iron Man and she never liked that he spent so much time working on something that was so violent. For awhile it had seemed like she understood that he was Iron Man regardless of the suit he wore but as time had passed it had been made clear that she didn’t want that part of him.

He was quickly realizing that he’d had an ideal in his head of how he had expected Pepper to be as his girlfriend. It was as unrealistic an expectation as him giving up the Iron Man armor and becoming a different man. Pepper was still the same woman she’d been as his assistant, but Tony had only thought she’d changed because she hadn’t been the girlfriend he’d pictured in his mind’s eye. He was sure that she felt the same way about him. Maybe she thought he’d changed from the man she had known and would only continue changing. But how could she think that when she’d worked for him for so many years and seen him at his lowest points? Tony’s head was spinning but thankfully not the way it had been before Rhodey had called. This was simply normal confusion that came with thinking far too hard about something he didn’t want to think about at all.

Maybe Rhodey was right.

Maybe Pepper wasn’t the woman for him and he wasn’t the man for her. If he broke it off now they could both move on and find the people they were really supposed to be with. It was unfair of him to stay in a relationship he knew wasn’t working. But what if it was working and this crazy phase he was going through was really the cause of all their problems? Somewhere deep down Tony knew that wasn’t the truth, but he couldn’t help but believe his excuses more than the reality. The excuses were easier to accept than dealing with what the truth would imply.

He’d rushed into a relationship out of fear of being alone. He had become some terrible break up song.

It wasn’t something he knew he’d been afraid of. Aware suddenly that he was over thinking and had since become incredibly silent, Tony shifted in his seat and took a sip of his drink. He couldn’t think of what to say to ease the tension but he couldn’t give up on it either. If he kept thinking this way then it would surely do him in.

“Speaking of relationships,” Rhodey cleared his throat, sensing that he had put Tony off his game. It worried him to see his friend so lost in thought. Sure, there had been times in their youth when they had contemplated the vast intricacies of life and had been stunned into silence, but it had never been like this. Whatever was happening to Tony was something far more complex than a little too much alcohol. If Rhodey pushed him too much it was possible that he would shut down. Helping his friend would be a process that would take longer than an afternoon of drinks. It didn’t matter if it took years to help Tony find normalcy and happiness again, Rhodey was more than willing to help. “I’ve been seeing someone.”

“What?” Tony perked up, turning his gaze away from his drink. The melancholic gloom that hung over his head faded away. Instead Tony looked taken aback and a little insulted.

“I’ve been seeing someone.” Rhodey repeated, casually sipping his drink.

“Well, I heard you. So details. You can’t break something like that and then not give me details.”

“If you heard me then why did you react like that?”

“Because that is what you say when you’re astounded. Rhodey, you stud! What’s she like? Is she hot? Should I be stealing her from you? What’s her name? How long have you been seeing her? I’m really glad you started dating again Rhodes, I was looking up monasteries you could move to since that seemed to be your choice of lifestyle…” Tony seemed to magically become his old self again. The transition wasn’t as awkward as he’d expected and Rhodey was glad to see a glimmer of his best friend again.

“Calm down, you gossip. Don’t get your panties in a bunch.” Rhodey smirked. Tony leaned his elbows against the table and batted his eyelashes comically. “Her name is Olivia and we’ve been seeing each other for a month.”

“A month? And you’re just telling me now?” Tony pouted, feigning offense. He wasn’t totally surprised that Rhodey hadn’t come running to him after the first date. When it came to women Tony was a notorious playboy and often accused of being a hound dog. In the past it had done Rhodey no favors with women he wanted to get serious with. Overall, Tony was happy for his friend as long as he was being made happy.

“I wanted to be positive she was a sure thing before I told you about it.” Rhodey didn’t apologize, he knew Tony would understand why he waited. “Besides, I haven’t seen you in weeks. I wasn’t going to call you up just to tell you I had a girlfriend. We’re not teenagers bragging about conquests anymore.”

“Well, aren’t you sweet?” Tony rolled his eyes but continued to pry. “So this Olivia… is she hot?” Rhodey didn’t like to value women on their appearance the way that Tony so easily managed to but his smile betrayed him. “You dog!” Tony smacked the table happily, proud of his friend. “You’ve got more game than you let on.”

“I have plenty of game.”

“Tell that to the weekends we spent in Vegas where you went to bed alone.”

“Do you have any idea how hard it is to get women when I’m standing next to one of the richest guys on the planet? Any woman that comes near me is aiming for you.”

“And you should have taken advantage of that fact instead of being a gentleman.”

“Ladies say chivalry is dead and I’m pretty sure you’re the reason why.” Rhodey pointed out.

“Chivalry? No way. I’m super chivalrous. I’m practically a knight. I already have the shining armor.” Tony smirked. Rhodey nearly choked on his drink and wound up coughing. “Hey! I am!”

“Sure, and I’m a distant heir of Alexander the Great.”

“Those women that hung all over me in casinos and, well, any place that I showed up, they weren’t looking to win my heart they were looking to use my money. All I wanted was something in return for what I spent. They didn’t get cheated and neither did I. We all knew what we were doing when we did it and there’s no harm in that. I was a perfect gentleman and always gave more than they bargained for, you know. Ladies first, and all that.” Tony set down his drink on the table in front of him. Rhodey stared at him in utter disbelief.

“Oh yeah, you’re totally chivalrous.”

“Thank you.”

“That was sarcasm.” Rhodey shook his head in dismay but smiled anyway.

“Sure it was. So, again, this Olivia… when do I get to meet her?”

“I was thinking like six months from now.”

“What? Come on! That’s so far away. Why so long? Are you afraid that I’m going to steal her away from you? I’m not single anymore, don’t you remember that?” laughed Tony.

“No, I need time to prep her for meeting you.”

“I know I’m pretty impressive and a lot to handle at times, but why so long? Can’t we do this in a week?”

“Because I don’t want you to chase her out of my life!” Rhodey laughed as though the answer was obvious.

“I would never…” Tony appeared absolutely horrified by the implications.

“What about that girl after college. The one I really liked?”

“Well I was young and stupid then. And to be fair, I didn’t know she was squeamish.” Tony had an excuse for everything. He always had.

“Okay then, so how about five years ago when I met that girl overseas and you flew out to have dinner with us and then promptly explained how dangerous my job was. It scared her enough that she never called me again. I was heartbroken!”

“Rhodey, she could barely speak English. I was doing you a favor!”

“She spoke better English than most of the women here in the States and I really liked her!” Rhodey chuckled, no longer frustrated by any of the errors Tony had made in his past. “Then there was the girl we met in Mexico…”

“Rhodey, you have got to stop falling for women out of the country. You have a serious problem.” Tony scolded and Rhodey shook his head in disbelief. Sometimes Tony was unbelievable. As much as he was insulted by Tony’s many excuses he was also relieved to hear him speaking so freely. Conversation had been strained up until that point.

“She was an American visiting Rocky Point, how the hell do you consider that a foreigner?”

“She was in another country therefore it was a foreign [em]Ménage à trois[/em]!” Tony argued then thanked a waiter who brought him a refill of his rum and coke that he’d barely realized he’d finished.

“Then what about…”

“Okay, okay! I got your point Rhodey. I’ll wait to meet her. Yeesh!” Tony laughed but turned his attention to the television behind him where the news story had changed. Every so often a newscaster would come on the screen and announce something that Tony couldn’t properly hear. His eyes flitted down to the words scrolling across the bottom and he watched for anything interesting. It was a habit he’d picked up after he’d become Iron Man. In the event of some kind of emergency or attack, it would be on the news and he would be able to jump into action. That hadn’t happened since New York and he was secretly hoping it wouldn’t now. For once he was enjoying himself without being Iron Man. “So have you two…?”

“Oh, come on Tony. You know I don’t give those kinds of details.” Rhodey chuckled and tilted his head to the side. Tony scrutinized him for a long moment before his lips curled into a Cheshire grin.

“You haven’t. What are you waiting for? A handwritten letter offering you permission to enter the gates? Or are you a vampire and have to be invited? Or is that not how vampires work anymore these days? I’m all confused after all these recent movies…” Tony drifted off but his brain continued to rattle on.

“I’m waiting for the right moment.”

“If I’ve learned anything it’s that every moment is a right moment to get laid.” Tony took a drink from his new glass and made a face. Someone had put a little too much rum in that glass.

“And if I’ve learned anything from watching you it’s that sometimes if you get laid too much the world sees you as a little bit of a slut. I want it to mean something more than what it is. I want it to be special and so does she.” Rhodey argued, sitting up straighter, proud that he’d stood his ground on the matter.

“So she won’t let you, huh?” Tony looked back to the television behind Rhodey again. Rhodey sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Not everyone is you, Tony. Some of us have to work for what we want instead of being handed it on a silver platter.”

“I have worked very hard for everything I have. You just wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at me.” Tony comically batted his eyelashes as he had done earlier. “And I don’t suppose I worked very hard for all those calendar models either.” Rhodey laughed again. It was good to see his friend smile and joke around. Even if most of the jokes were at his expensive, Rhodey didn’t mind much. Tony didn’t mean to make any digs at him personally that’s just how their relationship was. It was a give and take. Tony dug at Rhodey and Rhodey dug back and they laughed and got over it. It was very rarely that the two fought over anything seriously. Neither one of them was very sensitive.

“We should do this more often.” Rhodey spoke after his laughter had subsided. Tony looked past him again, but Rhodey figured he was waiting for a follow up as to what. “Don’t tell me that setting a time to meet in stone is for ladies. Plenty of guys have a designated time where they hang out with their friends to fit their schedules. It’s gender neutral to hang out, okay?” But still Tony didn’t respond to him. Had he broken Tony Stark? “We could meet here at this bar once a week. Or sometimes we could shake it up and have dinner. This place seems to be pretty friendly to the fact that you’re a celebrity. No one’s come running over here asking for a picture or your autograph so I’m already a fan of it.” Rhodey stirred what remained of his drink and sat back contently in his chair. But again Tony didn’t respond to him.

Rhodey looked from side to side and saw nothing of note around him. Tony was looking past him, practically through him. Waving his hand in front of Tony’s face, he saw the man shake his head from side to side in order to avoid his hand. Rhodey turned to follow Tony’s gaze and saw what was distracting him. The television was showing a news story that had completely enraptured his friend.

“Sometimes I swear that you’re as ADD as a puppy.” But still Tony wasn’t paying attention. His eyes remained glued to the television and the story it told.