Hello everyone!

Thank you so much for the support you have all given me after my long note at the start of the last chapter. Thank you for being understanding and commenting too, helping me feel reassured that none of you will begrudge me if I need to step away for a few weeks. This is why I will take breaks in between the stories, to give me the break I need. When I finish this story I may not post the next one until January 2021, but we will see how I feel and how much progress I may have made on it. I think this story will be finished by the end of November, potentially before.

This chapter is shorter than usual, mainly because I wanted to keep this chapter just to show Tony's birthday party. I feel this is an important event that needs to have its own chapter which is why this chapter is shorter than the rest.

I hope you all enjoy it!

Understanding the Real Hero: Iron Man 2

Five

Tony is now in the Iron Man suit, DJing at his own party amongst a crowd of men and women. He was drunk, by the obvious silly dancing, he was doing in the suit. Pepper walks in a frown on her face.

"This is going to be so embarrassing to watch," moaned Tony. He regretted how his birthday party had turned out. "I just want to ask you all not to judge me too harshly here. I know it's a lot to ask…"

Wanda reached across Rhodey and patted his arm. "We know," she smiled gently. "I understand. I won't judge you."

Guilt rose up inside Natasha. Part of her report had been based on Tony's antics at his birthday party. She really should have looked beneath the façade and at the real man underneath. She hadn't considered all the relevant factors. I really wish I had. Perhaps we would have been more of a team if my report hadn't been used to form the team's first impressions on Tony. She'd messed up big time when assessing Tony. She breathed out slowly and swallowed her pride. "I judged you on this before… I won't do so again."

"Bit late to change your report now, isn't it?" eyed Tony.

Natasha bit her lower lip. "It is… but all of us here can have our opinions changed by watching these movies. What I wrote formed the basis, it doesn't have to be taken as gospel anymore, especially if we can all understand you a lot more than we ever did so before."

Tony nodded, reluctantly accepting her explanation.

Cars pulled up outside the mansion, Rhodey in one of them, just finishing off a phone call to his superior, guaranteeing Iron Man would be back on watch within 24 hours.

"You didn't give me twenty-four hours." Tony pointed out.

Rhodey grimaced. "No, I didn't. Your antics at the party changed my mind."

Tony winced.

He found Pepper, who told him she was going to get some air. He could immediately tell there was something wrong. She showed him Tony, just as he fell over, drunk, laughing.

"I don't know what to do," said Pepper.

"Walk-out," suggested Clint. "She puts up with so much stuff from you. I just can't believe she would…"

"Still be with me after all these years?" interjected Tony.

Clint folded his arms across his chest. "I do not see what she sees in you."

"Believe me when I say I ask myself the same question every day," sighed Tony. "We're not perfect but we fit well together. We work even if you cannot see it. It's… It's hard to describe."

"It's a miracle," butted in Rhodey. "But, if you spend time with them, you'll see how much they really care about one another. It took them years to get together. Only death will break them apart."

"Which I hope will not happen for years," murmured Tony quietly. He didn't want to acknowledge the dread in the pit of his stomach that he may not have much longer left.

Rhodey couldn't believe what he was seeing. "You gotta be kidding me." Finally, he'd had enough. "That's it, I'm making…."

"No, no, no. Don't call anyone," begged Pepper.

Rhodey pointed towards Tony. "Pepper. This is ridiculous. I just stuck my neck out for this guy."

Tony looked down. "I'm sorry."

"I forgave you long ago."

"I don't deserve your forgiveness," muttered Tony. "I didn't think of you or anyone else. I had everything sorted with my suits if I was to die. I wasn't worried about them."

Rhodey sighed quietly. "Tony… Once the truth came out everything became clear. That's why I could forgive you. You were dying, and your condition was causing you to act out. Everything made sense… I know you wouldn't have done this if you had been fine."

A slight smile crossed Tony's face. "Thanks."

Pepper reassured him she was going to handle it. Rhodey hoped she would, otherwise he would have to.

Holding a microphone, Tony spoke to the crowd. "You know, the question I get asked most often is, "Tony, how do you go to the bathroom in the suit?"

Steve pulled a face. "Not a question I would ever want to know the answer to. But I suspect I'm about to find out."

He made a face, acting as if he'd just done a wee. "Just like that."

"Gross." Steve shook his head. He spotted that Tony was about to say something. "I know you were drunk. I'm not judging you for it. It doesn't mean I have to like it."

Tony shrugged. "I was expecting comments. I'm not surprised. I'm appalled myself. I would not act like that now."

"We know," said Sam gently. "I'm seeing it. So has Wanda. I think all of us here will see how much you've changed. You're not the man you were back then. You've…"

"Matured," finished Wanda. "Become a better person. I'm glad I've given you a chance."

The crowd cheered as Pepper walked up to him and took the microphone from him.

She smiled out at the crowd. "Does this guy know how to throw a party or what?"

Tony leaned in close to her, holding a bottle in his left hand. He was completely intoxicated. "I love you."

Tony shook his head. "Oh boy…"

Rhodey leaned in close and whispered: "Did you mean it?"

"A part of me wanted to," sighed Tony. "I should have listened to her then… But… I wanted you to take the suit. The only way I could do it…" He trailed off.

"Was push me into doing it. You let me take it?" asked Rhodey.

"Always wanted you to," said Tony. "Sorry."

Rhodey shook his head. "It worked out well in the end, despite the very bumpy road we took to get there."

Tony couldn't agree more.

Pepper laughed. "Unbelievable! Thank you so much. Tony, we all thank you so much for such a wonderful night. And we're gonna say good night now, and thank you all for coming." She tried to disperse the party but Tony wasn't having it.

"She handles your inebriation well, your lady Pepper!" crowed Thor. "She'd have fitted in well on Asgard!"

Tony wasn't sure if that was a compliment on Pepper's part or obscured as a veiled insult. He chose not to comment.

"Pretty sure Pepper only tolerated Tony's antics because she loved him," interpreted Rhodey. "But she did have an ending point when enough was enough. It just took a long time in coming."

Tony glanced at his friend curiously. "You're not talking about my drunken antics, are you?"

Rhodey shook his head. "Not really. She walked away after Ultron but she came back to you. But enough was enough for her. She needed the break."

"If anything, Pepper's breaking point was my consistent need to be Iron Man," admitted Tony, glancing at the others. "Our relationship was already rocky when Ultron happened. She hadn't been too pleased I'd joined the Avengers in hunting down HYDRA. It was a sore point between us which only pulled us further apart. And, then Ultron happened and things got worse. We took a break because we had to work out what we really wanted. Siberia was what brought her back to me…" Tony lowered his gaze. "She tolerates my use of the suits only when it is absolutely necessary, I have to use it. She knows it is a part of me, and will never really go away. But we decided we couldn't let it keep us apart. If it's something she doesn't want me to do, I won't do it."

Clint's face twitched. "A good way to build a strong relationship is to have those principles. Laura and I have them too. I know she'd rather I wasn't a SHIELD agent… She worries I won't come back to her but it's my life, my career…"

"But is it worth the stress and worry it puts on Laura?" asked Tony. "How has she been since you've been on house-arrest?"

Clint's face changed. "She's been happy. Knowing I'm at home and able to be the husband she wants to have. I've enjoyed it too. Able to see the kids grow up – a lot of which I've missed over the years due to all the missions I've been on. Laura always knew I might die in the field…" For the first time in a long while, an understanding expression crossed the Archer's face. "I think I understand how you must feel and why you chose the Accords. It was the better path for you…" He chewed his lower lip.

"Are you regretting joining me?" asked Steve.

Clint pursed his lips. "Maybe I am."

Steve paled.

"No, no, no, we can't … Wait, wait, wait. We didn't have the cake. We didn't blow out the candles."

Pepper lowered her voice so she was talking directly to Tony. "You're out of control, okay? Trust me on this, okay?"

"He won't," observed Sam. "This whole party is going to get worse before it gets better."

"You're right about that," muttered Rhodey.

But Tony was too drunk to register it. "You're out of control gorgeous."

Tony pulled a face. "Remind me to never get that drunk again."

She pushed him further, her voice hardening. "It's time to go to bed. It's time."

Bruce shook his head. "Please just listen to her!"

Tony puckered his lips. "Give me another smooch."

Pepper leaned back. "You're not going to be happy about this."

"Come on, you know you want to." Tony was persistent.

"You just peed in your suit, would she really want to?" asked Bucky, pulling a face.

Tony didn't need to answer. He could remember Pepper's exact words, consequently, they were the same as what Bucky had just said.

"You just peed in the suit," Pepper pointed out.

"Clearly we're mentally linked if I can guess what she will say next," grinned Bucky.

"I know. It has a filtration system," argued Tony, trying to justify his actions.

"Ew." Natasha winced. "Still doesn't change anything."

"It's not sexy," frowned Pepper.

"You could drink that water," revealed Tony.

Steve blinked, surprised by the statement. "Really? That's just…"

"It's filtered, Steve," defended Bruce. "As much as I feel Tony is wrong in this, the filtration system would be designed to allow it to be made safe to consume again. It's probably installed as an emergency if you got lost or something, right?"

Tony nodded. "There was always a reason I installed and ensured I had a suit that met my every need. You cannot survive for long without water. It might give me a few more days for rescue. May have been gross to say it at the party, but there were reasons why it was installed. I think of every eventuality. That is why I prepare so much."

Steve frowned. "I guess you have a reason to. It makes sense. It's just…"

"The way you said it there makes it seem grosser than what its true purpose is intended for," finished Sam.

"Understandable," acknowledged Tony.

"Just send everybody home, okay? It's time to…" she advised.

Tony relented. "If you say so."

Pepper exchanged the microphone for the bottle in his hand. "Okay. I'll take this, you take that."

"Pepper Potts. She's right. The party's over. Then again, the party was over for me, like, an hour and a half ago." Tony walked around the room. "The after-party starts in 15 minutes." There was a loud cheer from the audience and Pepper closed her eyes in despair. "And if anybody, Pepper, doesn't like it, there's the door." He pointed in the vague direction of the door and his repulsor fired, shattering the glass. The crowd ducked as pieces flew in all directions.

"This was the moment I realised you had completely lost it," sighed Nat. "I had to call in Fury. You were completely out of control to the extent if we didn't do anything, you'd die."

"I'm sure Fury hoped if I'd died, he'd be able to swoop in and take the suits," stated Tony, a little harshly.

"Unfortunately, your Will put a stop to that possibility. You'd set things up that we wouldn't have been able to do it," nodded Natasha.

"Wait…" Sam frowned. "Did SHIELD want Tony to die or to help him?"

"I think originally they wanted me to die," answered Tony. "It was only when other things were set in motion – Vanko – that they may have changed tack with me."

"Several factors ensured your death had to be prevented," admitted Natasha. "I wasn't under orders to save you if you died. Unfortunately, as you know, SHIELD and HYDRA had everything mapped out. Contingencies were in place in the event of your death or your survival. I was ordered not to interfere if you did something stupid which killed you."

Tony glared at her. "Nice to know SHIELD's one true goal was to get my tech rather than save my life."

"I'm not going to apologise for it. I was only following orders," stated Natasha, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Fury is the one you should be mad at. Not Nat," defended Clint.

Tony sighed. "I know. I am."

One of the girls threw a bottle into the air. Tony fired, shattering it to pieces. Rhodey leaves, running downstairs to Tony's lab to get one of the suits. The girl is still throwing things for Tony to shoot at, including a watermelon.

"This coming bout between us isn't going to reflect well on me," sighed Tony, wincing at the others witnessing his brawl with Rhodey in the Iron Man suits.

"You bought it on yourself," noted Rhodey.

"Remind me the next time I am dying not to do stupid things," advised Tony.

"It may be too late for that. How about we remind you every day?" grinned Rhodey. "Vision could tell you at the same time every day."

"I could, Mr. Stark, if you wish me to?" Vision said.

"Er… no thanks." Tony hurriedly shot down.

"I'm only gonna say this once!" Rhodey stands behind the crowd in a full suit of Iron Man armour, coated silver – the Mark II. His gaze is intense and fiery. "Get out." The helmet slipped down over his face as everyone runs for the door. Rhodey moved forward, pointing at Tony. "You don't deserve to wear one of these. Shut it down!"

"I have to agree," said Steve, "your behaviour here isn't conducive to being mentally capable of handling the suits."

"I really wished you had powered down when Rhodey had asked you to," stated Natasha.

"I was too drunk and dying to care at that point," mentioned Tony, feeling ashamed of his actions.

Tony doesn't seem bothered and turns to look at the DJ who has remained behind.

"Goldstein?"

"Yes, Mr. Stark?" the DJ answered.

Tony giggles uncontrollably. "Give me a phat beat to beat my buddy's ass to."

As Rhodey comes up from behind to grab Tony, 'Another One Bites the Dust' by Queen starts to play.

"Not the best tune to play when there is a domestic incident going on," sighed Sam.

Tony was beginning to worry about his behaviour in this movie would undo all the hard work the first movie had gone to, to show how much he had changed. Wanda liked him now. As if she had noticed his thoughts, she leaned forward, caught his eye, and mouthed at him: "It won't change anything."

A sense of relaxation swept through his body. A slight smile crossed his face and he mouthed back: "Thanks."

"I told you to shut it down!" Rhodey demanded.

Tony smiles, throws the microphone and bottle away, and his face-plate slides down into place. His thrusters flared and he threw them both back into the wall, into the next room, and threw a pane of glass before landing in the Gym. Tony manages to right himself, flipping over to land smoothly on two feet whilst Rhodey lay on his side on the floor, amongst shattered pieces of glass.

"Smooth landing," said Sam. "Though not in the best of circumstances."

"Practice," shrugged Tony.

Rhodey raised his hand. "In my defence, this was my first time in the suit. I was still working things out."

Tony began to strode away as if the fight was over. "Now, put that thing back where you found it before someone gets hurt." Something hit him in the back of his head. Glancing back, Rhodey continued to throw things towards Tony who leaned out of the way. "Really?" Grabbing a set of weights, Tony hit him hard, sending him back into the wall. Hovering over to him, Tony made it clear that Iron Man did not have a sidekick.

"That really hurt," accused Rhodey.

"I was trying to push you into taking the suit," admitted Tony. "If I had backed down, would you have kept it?"

"No. I would never have taken it to the military. I gave you multiple chances to come clean. But you were intent on pushing me away for good. It's all in the past now, but you really could have gone about things differently. I know you were always afraid to ask for help, but Pepper, Happy, and I were your best friends. You should have trusted us. We could have found a way to help you."

Tony's lips twitched. "Maybe."

"We could have," insisted Rhodey. "Working together is better than working alone."

"Don't forget he did solve the element issue himself," pointed out Natasha, "though, with a little help from SHIELD of course."

Rhodey hit Tony with a pipe, throwing Tony up through the ceiling with the force of the hit. Rhodey flew upwards. "Had enough?"

Steve rolled his eyes. "I doubt it."

The action moved to the front of Tony's house where the guests congregated. Pepper and Natasha were the only ones left in the house.

"Natalie!"

Natasha hurried to her side. "Miss Potts."

Anger burst through Pepper's response. "Don't you "Miss Potts" me! I'm on to you. You know what? Ever since you came here…"

Clint grinned. "Did she figure you out?"

"After this, Pepper did look into my history. She figured out I wasn't really a Stark Industries employee. But she kept me on. She recognised I was there for a reason." She glanced at Tony. "Unlike you, who tried to fire me as soon as you realised, I was an Agent."

Loud thumps were heard before both Tony and Rhodey came crashing through the ceiling. Pepper screamed. Happy ran in to get her out of harm's way. Natasha ran off into the crowd.

"At that point, I really did leave," confirmed Natasha. "And returned with Fury and SHIELD later."

Both Tony and Rhodey continued to brawl with one another, constantly hitting and kicking one another. Tony told Rhodey if he wanted the suit to just take it. Finally, Tony managed to knock the wind from Rhodey and he turned to face the crowd, realising some had cameras on and were filming what was happening.

Rhodey frowned. "I've never actually seen any footage of the party ever. They were filming us… What happened?"

"JARVIS intercepted it and had all traces of it removed from the internet. He was good like that. Knew what type of things would be too damaging for me as Iron Man. That was one of them. It helped the media couldn't really confirm the story. All they had was stories from the guests but the Army refused to comment on the rumours. Only the people who were there really knew what happened that night," explained Tony.

"And now us," said Bruce.

Tony yelled at the crowd in anger and frustration; the crowd running off in fear of what he would do. Rhodey pulled an appliance out and used it to whack Tony hard with it. The blow sent him flying into a burning fireplace; flames cascading around him. Pulling himself out, he turned and raised his right arm, the repulsor starting to glow to life as he pointed it at Rhodey.

"If we hadn't of done this, we wouldn't have…" Tony trailed off, glancing at Rhodey, wondering if he would catch his meaning.

Rhodey did. He knew Tony was referring to the way they had taken down Vanko.

Rhodey copied the same action. "Put your hand down."

Tony didn't. "You think you got what it takes to wear that suit?"

"I think I've proven myself a few times by now," nodded Rhodey, a little smug expression on his face.

Rhodey sounded regretful. "We don't have to do this, Tony."

"You wanna be the War Machine, take your shot," dared Tony, not backing down.

"Put it down!" The repulsors on both suits were still powering up.

"This is gonna wreck your house, isn't it?" deadpanned Sam, already guessing the outcome.

"Think its already slightly ruined…" noted Clint.

Tony shrugged. "Didn't cost much to repair though."

"You gonna take a shot?"

"Put it down!" Rhodey wasn't giving up.

Tony refused. "No!"

Rhodey shouted back. "Drop it Tony!"

"Take it!" ordered Tony.

Both fire at the same time and the blasts met in the middle, resulting in an explosion that threw them both backward, windows shattering, and smoke drifting out from the house. Tony ended up nearly on his back on the floor by the wall.

"Was it worth it?" asked Natasha. "Everything that happened that night? Was it worth it?"

"In a way it was. I got put on the straight and narrow by SHIELD, and Rhodey and the Air Force were happy with their new acquisition. It went mostly the way I had figured it would go."

As his systems powered back online, he scanned the area and saw Rhodey in the silver suit walking towards the perimeter. Rhodey looks back at him before turning away and flying off in the suit.

"If you had apologised, if you had tried to make amends before I left, I wouldn't have given War Machine to the army," revealed Rhodey. "A part of me still hoped you'd realise how wrong you were and make things right."

Tony looked away, not able to see Rhodey's disappointed expression. "It took a new element to kept me back on the straight and narrow. Nothing you could have done would have got me there. Sorry."

A part of Rhodey understood. Another wished Tony had been more receptive to his friends attempts to help him.

At the Edwards Air Force Base in Mojave, CA, Rhodey flew in, landing on the tarmac. The interface showed him the details of the people who were approaching him. The helmet plate slid up revealing Rhodey. Men and army personnel began to crowd around him. He was greeted by the Major and they went inside the army base.

"That was honestly one of the Major's best days when I bought the suit back. Felt like I was betraying you," sighed Rhodey.

"I wanted you to take it. It was better in my hands than yours," explained Tony. "I knew my legacy was being left in the right hands. Couldn't have gone to anyone better."

"Could have gone about it differently though," teased Rhodey, aware the others were hearing their conversation.

"I was never one to ask for help."

Steve leaned forward. "Sometimes, I really wish you did ask for help. When you've gone off on your own and things have happened… It's worried us."

Tony was surprised at the admission. "Worry? For me?"

"You're still our teammate, no matter what happens," continued Steve. "I know not everyone here feels the same way but ever since Siberia I have worried about you. We may have broken apart, but I do still care. You're Earth's Best Defender."

Tony scoffed. "Hardly."

"You may not see it yet, but you are," answered Steve's softly. "I know I've said things here today that have hurt you… but these movies are also opening my eyes to who you truly are. I thought I knew you. I didn't."

Tony lowered his chin. "None of you really knew me, apart from Rhodey. I only open myself up to others when I can trust them. I'd started to trust you all by opening my home to you. And then the Accords… I tried to do what was best for the team, to get us through this so we were still in a position to help save others… and it hit me back in the face. And, Siberia, Steve, how can I trust you after that?"

"What happened in Siberia?" Bruce looked between the two.

Steve waited for Tony to speak.

"You'll find out. Then maybe you'll realise why trusting Steve is a hard thing for me to do again." Tony shook his head. "Come on, let's get back to this movie. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can get on with our lives."

To be continued...

Please let me know what you think!

It was pointed out to me that, I think in the Iron Man 2 comic, that SHIELD had hoped that when Tony died they would have got the suits and all his tech. I've sort of alluded to that in this chapter. They could have helped him sooner but held back a temporary reprieve from him until they needed him to survive longer. This concept will come up in later chapters too, most likely the next one.

Steve is trying his best to see Tony in a different light. Tony is still not trusting of Steve.

I'm finding it difficult to give Thor things to say... I'm hoping I can rectify that soon.

The next chapter should be posted next Sunday :)

Until then,

the-writer1988