Note: In this little AU of the party scene in Age of Ultron I am disregarding the fact that Rhodey brings up Pepper first rather than agent Hill. It doesn't fit the 'I'm sorry you girlfriend left you' narrative I'm trying out with my two favorite Iron Husbands!

"Disappointment is a sort of bankruptcy - the bankruptcy of a soul that expends too much in hope and expectation."

― Eric Hoffer

"Where are the ladies gentlemen?"

Rhodey winced at the question, blunt and unintentionally smug, as it rolled off Maria's tongue and over the champagne flute she sipped from. Then again, Rhodey was the only other person, except for maybe Natasha, that knew Tony and Pepper had broken up.

Pepper had called Rhodey three weeks prior.

Three chirps from the Stark phone Tony had given him, one of the 'first prototypes' Tony had said in order to reassure him on the cost -though Rhodey knew better, alerted him to the caller.

The custom 'Walking on Sunshine' digital melody, another of Tony's gifts, that looped around his darkened apartment scraped and pushed against his nerves; the bright and peppy tune had completely startled him awake.

'Yeah, hi-why are you calling so-'

'I ended things with Tony.'

Those five simple words had punched the breath from Rhodey's lungs faster than any well landed blow during a training session. Rhodey sat up abruptly and pulled the covers away as he made to stand up.

'What? When?'

She paused, Rhodey removed the phone from his ear to check that the line was still connected; he glanced absently at the glaring red numbers on the clock display on his bedside table; it was past one in the morning.

'I...today,' she had whispered, ' just now actually...I wanted to let you know so you could...be there for him.'

Rhodey scoffed, the sound exploded from the back of his throat before he could stop it.

'You and I both know he isn't going to allow that-'

'Well someone needs to be,' she hissed sharply, 'dammit James if not you then who the hell else? We can't even be…," Pepper stopped short and took one long breath that rattled through the receiver, 'Tony will never say it...but he's very hurt and we aren't good for one another right now, I can't do it anymore. He needs someone that won't let him down and I can't keep worrying about whether or not he's going to come home in a box…but you two, Rhodey you are his rock…you've always been so close.'

Rhodey froze at the change in her tone and stood up from his disheveled bed; gooseflesh broke out over his exposed arms and shoulders.

How could she know? Had he not been careful enough?

'Pepper I-'

'James, it's not-it's fine...really, I don't think he even knows-'

'I would never have...I haven't said any-'

'I know,' she laughed wetly, Rhodey could picture the CEO in his head -small and perched on an empty bed as she wiped tears away from her long blond lashes, 'I know, but maybe you should…'

He said nothing, the breath seemed to have dissipated from his lungs entirely.

'How...how long have you…,' she began quietly but the hitch in her voice snared the last of her question. Rhodey understood anyway.

'I think...since graduation...but I'm not sure I really realized it until Afghanistan...not until we almost lost him."

He held his breath and hovered his thumb over the 'end-call' button...but...

'Shit,' Rhodey finally ground out as he ran a hand over his face, 'okay...okay you can count on me Pep.'

"Yes, I'm not even sure what country Jane is in, her work on the convergence has made her the world's foremost astronomer," Thor continued past Rhodey's introspection, his proud grin and ruddy cheeks painted his words with uninhibited admiration towards Ms. Foster.

Maria snorted into her stemware; she coughed loudly and schooled her blatant smile into an exaggerated simper. Thor merely grinned broadly and took another long draught from his beer stein.

Rhodey couldn't help but smirk, till he caught the look on the engineer's face.

The sharp line of Tony's shoulders twitched. His soft brown eyes narrowed slightly as the effort to maintain the stretched and painful grin doubled. Tony clasped his glass tighter and shoved one hand into his pants pocket.

If the topic of conversation hadn't triggered such an immediate change, however subtle, in the genius, Rhodey would have clapped Thor on the shoulder and offered his congratulations.

"Pepper Potts," Tony stated -his voice came out tight and bitter, "runs the biggest tech conglomerate on earth. She is one of the most hardworking and dedicated women I have ever had the pleasure of knowing."

Rhodey glanced at Maria with raised eyebrows, she smirked back amused and unphased at the posturing taking place in front of them; Rhodey grimaced.

"There's talk of Jane getting the Nobel Prize," laughed Thor as the god encircled an arm around Tony's stiff shoulders and gestured boldly with the other -his mug of Asgardian mead tilted and spilled it's frothy contents on the tile, "but surely an intriguing woman such as your own must be run off her feet since she remains absent from the celebration of our victory!"

Tony's expression shuttered as Thor continued.

"How wonderful that my fellow shield brother experiences the same love and support of such fine and hearty maidens as ours! A toast! I say this calls for a-"

"Thor, hey Thor!" Sam called from the bar as he and Steve began to make their way over, "I have a bet with Clint that needs settling, he's in the kitchen, where's that mystical hammer of yours?"

Thor let go of Tony's shoulder to raise his arm, Mjölnir abruptly spun into the room and shot into the god's outstretched hand.

"Tis always with me friend Wilson!" Thor boomed jovially; Sam grinned and motioned for the god to join him.

Maria followed suit and drained the last of her champagne with a small wink at Rhodey, "Now there's a party trick! See you on the other side boys," she said with a quick salute.

Tony moved jerkily and dropped his untouched glass, which spun once before it safely righted itself, on the side table to his left; he fled towards to sunken lounge. Rhodey watched him go and blew out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.

"You should go and talk to him," Steve said suddenly, Rhodey turned in surprise to find that the super soldier had remained beside him.

"I talked to Natasha...she has a theory of sorts about what's been going on recently," he continued with a glance from Rhodey to Tony's barely visible figure across the room, "why Stark's been so off for the last couple of weeks. I also have a theory of my own."

Rhodey grunted and took a sip from his glass to avoid the piercing blue gaze the Captain had leveled at him. Steve sighed and finished his own drink, he placed the empty beer bottle on the table beside Tony's glass and turned to fully face Rhodey.

"I haven't known Tony for as long as you or Ms. Potts have so...I might be comin' out of left field here."

Rhodey quirked an eyebrow but said nothing; Steve chuckled humorlessly.

"As the world's leading expert on waiting too long, don't."

Rhodey felt himself still, his hands stopped their rhythmic tapping against the crystal stemware he continued to awkwardly hold.

"Especially now," the Captain barrelled on, "he needs someone in his life that can handle the pitfalls of service," Rhodey could feel those blue eyes on him once more, "someone he can depend on."

Rhodey cleared his throat and looked away sharply, "Captain you don't-"

"It's Steve...please," the super soldier interjected solemnly, "and I'm not stupid...I do notice things Colonel. Like how excited Tony gets whenever you visit...honestly he acts like a kid on Christmas," Steve shot him a shallow grin, "Or when War Machine comes up on the news after saving the day again...Tony looks at you like you hung the moon...but I don't think he realizes it. Maybe you hadn't either judging by the look on your face," Steve took a small step towards him.

It was as though the room had suddenly tilted.

Rhodey felt his breath quicken and his heart rate rose to a thunderous tempo in his ears.

"Are you alright Colonel Rhodes-I'm sorry, Natasha said not to push but-"

Rhodey nodded sharply, the words echoed in his head over and over.

Tony looks at you like you hung the moon.

Tony threw his arm around Rhodey's shoulder as they made their way down the hallway of their dorm for the last time. Tony had grown a few inches and lost the soft lines of youth in exchange for sharp cheekbones and the first few shades of a five o'clock shadow upon his chin. Rhodey laughed at the whirlwind chatter that hadn't ceased since a fifteen year old Tony had first knocked on his door four years prior.

'Okay so, you're going home for the summer right? Because I've already got big plans for us!'

'Yeah, my mom is excited for you to come visit, she's already got a list of things for you to fix but I told her-'

'No no that sounds awesome!' Tony interjected hurriedly as though worried the invitation would be rescinded. 'Was this because of Dum-E? I'm always ready to improve things, just lemme at em!' He grinned at Rhodey momentarily but it faded and morphed into something serious, something Jim had only ever seen a handful of times -during each of Tony's phone calls home.

'Could we bump up the visit at all? Maybe I could just come with you right now?'

Rhodey hesitated, from what little he had managed to gather about Tony's home life he could certainly understand the desire to put off returning but a small selfish part of him longed to be alone for a few days.

Being friends with Tony Stark had been fine, great even, but Rhodey looked forward to a bit of solitude after four years of looking after the manic spit-fire that was the young genius.

"No Tones, let's just do it in a couple weeks like we planned, I don't want to stress everyone out with having to change everything last minute," he could see Tony's expression darken momentarily as the words left him; Rhodey winced internally, his chest constricted with a foreboding dread, but made no move to take them back.

"Yeah okay, that's...yeah…,' Tony smiled feebly but there was no real force behind it.

Rhodey pulled him into a one armed hug as they reached the main doors, 'I'll see you in a few weeks okay?'

'Okay.'

His mother had asked him later once they had arrived home why Tony had not simply come with them rather than go back to Malibu for the first three weeks; this time Rhodey visibly winced.

'Mom, you know I love the guy but I just needed some time for me-'

'James, that boy looks at you like you hung the moon,' Rhodey rolled his eyes, she sighed heavily and shook her head, 'someday you're going to realize how important such friendships are...you can't take them lightly."

Tony showed up three weeks later with a sprained wrist, which he had easily explained away as a lab accident, but the odd bruise around his other arm, which appeared as Tony rolled up his shirt sleeves to help prepare dinner, the genius simple ignored.

Rhodey barely slept that night, lost in the feeling that he had unquestionably let his friend down.

He finally managed to stutter, "It's fine-I'm fine Steve...thank you. I think...I'll be right back."

Steve hovered for a moment, his gaze unsure, before he stepped away, "Good luck Colonel Rhodes."

Rhodey nodded and hurriedly moved to follow Tony's path towards the sunken living room, "Call me Jim, Steve," he threw over his shoulder with a growing smile.

Rhodey moved swiftly towards the sectional Tony had draped himself across but halted at the stiff posture the other man sported. He stepped around the small coffee table and sank gently into the cushions; Rhodey pulled himself up next to the engineer and nudged the other's knee slightly. Rhodey had sworn all those years ago, in the middle of the night with Tony in the next room -battered but safe in the Rhodes home, that he would never again let him down; he hoped he could keep that promise.

Tony huffed quietly but his mouth curled into the barest of smirks.

"'Hey Honeybear, enjoying the shindig?"

Rhodey hummed and raised both hands to run over his face, the movement forced the jittery energy out of this system, "About as much as you are," he murmured.

"All these agents want to talk about is work and I gotta say for a government intelligence agency you'd think someone would have something interesting to say."

Tony snorted and leaned back against the couch; his tie had been loosened and pulled away from around his neck and he had removed his jacket which had been placed over the edge behind him. The image Tony presented screamed, 'I'm relaxed and fine! Look how relaxed I am!', but he seemed to have forgotten how long Rhodey had known him.

"Well who needs boring agents when you have me? My life if so intriguing and dynamic it would take three movies to really explore it." Tony said, he smiled lightly but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"I think Thor had a little bit too much of that Asgardian mead of his," the Colonel said softly, Tony's cheek twitched, "if he had known about Pepper I don't think-"

"Sure, yeah," Tony barked immediately, he shifted away, "I know. Intellectually I know...genius remember? It was just hard to remember why she wasn't here tonight."

Rhodey nodded, "You're amazing Tones," he winced at the saturated sincerity that coated his words. Tony shifted his shoulders in a soft shrug at the compliment but kept his gaze on the table; the frustrated breath that punctured the contented silence around them snapped the Colonel to attention.

"Honestly, Tony you can be a pain in the ass but I don't want you to doubt how Pepper feels about you or how I feel about you…"

Tony seemed to come back to himself abruptly but continued to avoid Rhodey's gaze.

"Tony," Rhodey began -his brain panicked and jumped over the multitude of things he could or should say to this man- and suddenly fumbled, "I like your eyes-"

"What?"

"No thats-that's not what I meant to say-" Rhodey sputtered, his ears burned as his mouth continued to run ahead of his frenzied brain.

"So you...don't like my eyes?"

"I…" he shook his head sharply and steeled himself. Rhodey reached forward slowly and took Tony's hand as he finally caught the engineers befuddled gaze, "I want to take you to dinner."

Tony cocked his head to the side, his mouth opened and closed slightly as he processed the odd request.

Rhodey could have slapped himself silly.

"Um, it's a little late for that don't you think? Plus we're right in the middle of a party Platypus."

"Dammit," Rhodey whispered under his breath as he scrambled to think of something to say that would salvage this hideous confession. This was something he had been waiting to say for years and now all of a sudden he couldn't string a sentence together.

Rhodey glanced down at the modest pressure that appeared on his hand; Tony squeezed it once again and smiled, it was small but genuine this time.

"It's okay Jim, really," Tony hadn't taken his hand back, "you don't need to try and make this okay, I just need to get over it," the engineer said, the grin he had sported a moment before shrank and withered; Rhodey finally snapped.

"I've been in love with you for years!"

He could feel the blood drain out of his face, hot and thick like mud as it wrapped around his heart and chest to constrict his breathing; Tony stared silently, his soft brown eyes were wide with surprise. The conversation around them had paused at the volume of Rhodey's admission.

"You...What?"

A small bubble of hysterical laughter escaped as Rhodey drew himself up and met Tony's gaze.

"I've been in love with you for years and I know this is really not the best timing with Pepper but," he squeezed Tony's hand gently, "whenever you're ready I'd like to take you out for dinner."

Tony opened his mouth but only silence met Rhodey's offer which now hung between them.

Rhodey's heart leaped and roared in his chest and ears; Tony remained silent.

"Okay…," he sighed eventually after Tony closed his eyes and ran a shaking hand through his hair, "okay this was...this was not a good idea, I'm sorry I blindsided you with-"

Rhodey swallowed the last of his apology as Tony swiftly leaned in to press a soft kiss to his lips, his brain exploded with a burst of short circuiting glee at the tentative contact. A chorus of wolf whistles and whoops circled through the room but Rhodey could barely hear them, his focus remained on the soft goatee that tickled at his chin as the engineer turned his head slightly to deepen the kiss. Rhodey raised his hands to cup the sides of Tony's face, one moved through his soft brown hair, almost reverently, before Rhodey pulled back.

"I wanted to do that since the second week of MIT," Tony groaned hoarsely, eyes still closed, "but...I mean, at that point I was way too young and you were out of my league so…" he trailed off softly.

Rhodey barked out a laugh of relieved surprise, "Yeah, you were young Tones, but never, ever out of my league. Got it?"

Tony looked up with bright eyes and snorted once more, "Got it honeybear".