Inspired by the lyrics from the song 'A New Hope' By Broken Iris. The italic sentence at the start and end of this story are lyrics from the song.
Canon Divergence, Domestic Avengers.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers or Marvel.
Cross Posted on my AO3.
'To your grave I spoke, holding a red, red rose.'
Standing above a grave, he looked down and stared at it. Remaining still and in the pouring rain for a good fifteen minutes before he bent down and wordlessly placed a single red rose on the ground that held his parent's skeletal remains beneath. Taking a step backwards, he sat down on the wet bench and continued to stare, watching silently as the rain darkened the colour of the grey stone slab that spoke the names of the deceased,
Howard Anthony Walter Stark
Aug. 15, 1917 - Dec. 16, 1991
&
Maria Collins Stark neé Carbonell
Feb. 26, 1922 - Dec. 16, 1991
That was it. No words, no…anything. It was plain and bland. But…that was because no words were needed. An hour must've passed before the soaked figure spoke.
—LINE BREAK—
"Has anyone seen Bucky?" Steve asked as he entered the communal area in the Avengers Tower,
"Nope." Steve sighed at their answers, then Rhodey entered seconds after,
"Anybody seen Tony today?"
"No." The group answered in unison
"Is there a hide and seek game going on that we don't know about?" Clint asked childishly and at Rhodey's confused expression, he explained more, "Well, Steve can't find Bucky and you can't find Tony. What other reason is there for those two to be hiding?" Rhodey just stared blankly at the immature archer,
"Does anybody know what the date is?"
"The 16th of December, right?" Bruce answered finally looking up from the book he had been lost in,
"Yes. Can anybody remember what was revealed to Tony two weeks ago?" There was a pause before Steve and Natasha's eyes widened in understanding, "He learned that not only were his parents murdered but also that it was by the hand of the Winter Soldier." Rhodey stared them all down before continuing once more, "Now. Can anybody use their brains and put two and two together? And Cap, this is probably why Barnes isn't letting you be near him."
"…Oh god, it's the anniversary of their deaths." Bruce whispered,
"Exactly. Thing is, Tony's a wild card. Every year Pepper, Happy or I take on the role of being with him. For all we know he is-" Rhodey began to count on his fingers as he ticked off the things Tony could be doing, "- in a different country, hammered in a bar somewhere, throwing himself into dangerous situations, locked in his lab -except he isn't this time as I've checked- or being self-destructive."
"Mr Rhodes, if I may, sir left the building fifty-eight minutes and 26 seconds ago." JARVIS interrupted,
"Can you pull up whatever footage you have of him this morning, J?"
"Of course." The AI answered and the image of Tony appeared on the large flatscreen TV on the living room wall.
The group watched as Tony dressed in a black suit and tie, one that they weren't familiar with as the billionaire wore rather colourful and extravagant suits usually. The video was of him going down in the elevator, his hands were trembling slightly and he had put his sunglasses on, covering up what they assumed were dark circles and watery eyes. They watched as he reached the lobby floor and saw how he stood by the doors and stared at the pouring rain, before walking out without a coat or umbrella. That was the last video JARVIS had of Tony.
"You lot do whatever, I'm going to look for my best friend because clearly, I'm the only one who cares."
"You can't blame us, James, he always keeps to himself, how would we know?" Natasha asked,
"Maybe because you're supposed to be his friends. Anyway, do whatever, I don't have time for this." Turning on his heel, Rhodey headed to the elevator and left the building. Opening up an umbrella, Rhodey took a gamble and made his way to the cemetery where Tony's parents were buried.
—LINE BREAK—
"Hey mum…dad. It's been a while…since the Obie…Obadiah situation." He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees as he rested his chin on his clasped hand, staring down at the headstone, "Couple weeks ago…I learned something and I…" He removed his sunglasses from his face and folded them up, "I'm…I'm sorry dad. I'm so so sorry. All these years, I blamed you. I blamed you for getting mum killed. All these years I thought you and your…alcoholism were the reason she was gone." A strangled sob was torn from his throat, "Oh god…dad, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It wasn't your fault. You were murdered and I blamed you." His body shook as he cried, "If…if anyone's to blame it…it's me. I convinced you to drive up and see me…if I hadn't…you…you'd still be here."
—LINE BREAK—
"Oh, Tones." Said man didn't move, just continued to stare even as a familiar arm wrapped around him and an umbrella was placed above him, blocking him from the rain…not that it really mattered to the soaked man. "It wasn't your fault. You know that. Deep down you know that even if they hadn't have made that journey, Hydra would've gotten them eventually." Tony didn't say anything but he shifted and placed his face against Rhodey's chest, the colonel tightened his free arm around the crying man in a comforting manner, "Ssh, it's okay, let it all out."
"I…I miss them. Both…both of them. M…Mum and dad…even dad."
"That's alright." They sat there for a few minutes before Rhodey urged Tony to stand up, "Come on Tones, let's get you home." He murmured as he gently led the man to the car that had just appeared. Happy appeared and opened the door for the two, the driver stopped Rhodey from getting in momentarily,
"How is he?"
"Not good." Happy just responded with a sad look and sigh before they both got in the car. Once inside, Rhodey eased the damp blazer off of Tony and replaced it with a large and cosy hoodie in an attempt to warm the soaking man and at Tony's irritated sigh, Rhodey spoke up, "Tony, your lips and fingers are turning blue. The likelihood of you not staying in bed sick for the next few days is very slim."
—LINE BREAK—
Huddling the man inside, Rhodey told JARVIS to take them up to the penthouse without stopping for anyone else. After showering and changing, Tony snuggled up in bed, Rhodey, who had been ordering some food for the pair, before he too got snuggled in bed watching TV with his best friend.
No one saw the pair until the next day. No one saw Bucky either…except for Tony and Rhodey.
Halfway through the movie, there was a knock on the door. The black man stood and opened it, a confused expression slithered onto Rhodey's face as he stared at the man.
"I…I came to talk to Mr Stark." Rhodey looked at the man cuddled up in bed and sighed,
"Come on in." Leading the man over to the small ball within the duvet, "Tones, Bucky's here and would like to speak with you."
"Ok…Honey bear if you'll give us a minute, please." His best friend seemed hesitant but did as asked.
Bucky sat on the side of the bed when Tony gestured for him to do so,
"I know you told me to stop but…I am sorry, Mr Stark." The man looked down at his metal arm,
"Bucky -can I call you Bucky? Firstly, please…just call me Tony, secondly…I will admit this year was more difficult…with the recent knowledge of their…deaths. But…please. Stop blaming yourself. It was Hydra's fault. Yes, I know you're fed up of everyone -namely Steve- telling you this. And yes it was your arm that caused it but we destroyed that. I built you a new arm. A new arm for a new beginning." Bucky smiled gently and thanked the man with a slight blush.
When Rhodey came back in a few minutes later and was surprised when Tony grabbed Bucky's metal arm to stop him from leaving. Eventually, the three got cosy in the bed and no, it was not sexual, it was a friendly gesture when they all fell asleep with Tony in the middle of the pair.
'Searching for a new hope.'
Anyway,
Thank you for reading,
Hope you enjoyed this,
Please review,
No hate -don't like, don't read
Bye~