Hello, all! :D This is the first in a succession of updates that are coming for this fic. (My goal is to have it completed by the end of the year.)I've got the next 5 chapters mapped out in detail, currently, with plenty more twists and turns before we're done! I've just gotta get them all written! (NOT a bad problem to have, I say!) As always, thank you so much for your support! It's means so much! :D :D Happy Friday, and happy reading!
"It's a great thing, what you and Tony have managed to accomplish," Rhodey said, stirring the creamer in his coffee, and then placing the spoon back on the table. He brought the cup to his lips, and took a long sip, before he spoke again. "And Pepper? She's one of a kind. A special woman. I mean, she'd have to be, right? To put up with his crazy ass for so long? I've known the guy for almost 30 years, and believe me. It's been enough at times to make me want to have myself committed for even calling him my friend."
The two men chuckled. Bruce nodded. "She deserves a medal, no doubt," he replied. " And Tony's a lucky man. Not everyone gets to find someone to share their lives with," he said wistfully, his voice going quiet as he turned his eyes to the view out the window. They'd chosen a small, greasy-spoon cafe just down the street from the hospital a couple of days before to get coffee. So, they decided to return for breakfast before going to the hospital that morning, maybe this time having the chance to engage in more of an in depth conversation. Rhodey welcomed the chance to get to know the man Tony held in such high regard. And who he personally was grateful to for saving his best friend's wife, not to mention, his best friend himself.
The busy city street made for a lot of spectating fodder, and Bruce busied himself with watching the comings and goings of the commuters outside.
Rhodey watched the pensive man for a moment in silence, sensing the gravity of his words. "How 'bout you, Dr. Banner?" Rhodey asked.
Bruce turned his eyes back to Rhodey and smiled bashfully. "Please. Call me Bruce," he insisted. "Dr. Banner makes me sound like I should be walking around in a lab coat."
"Well...don't you?" Rhodey joked. "The first couple of times I saw you at the hospital, you had one on."
Bruce chuckled. "Good point," he replied. "But it's not the norm, I assure you. So, please. Bruce is fine," he assured, with a smile.
"Alright, then, Bruce," Rhodey said. "How about you? Got anyone waiting for you back home?"
Bruce just shook his head. "No, uh... as you might imagine, I'm kind of a keep-to-myself type. And a bit of a nomad, a lot of the time, too. So, there's...no need," he said softly, though Rhodey sensed this was more of a statement of rationalized regret than fact. Bruce certainly had an aura of melancholy and loneliness to him. It was unmistakable. And it made him feel sorry for the guy.
"Yeah, I get it," Rhodey said finally, not wanting to embarrass him. "Life just gets in the way sometimes, right?"
Bruce gave him a thankful smile for not pressing the issue, and nodded. "It certainly does," he said.
They both chuckled awkwardly. Then, Bruce picked up his spoon and started to gently stir his chamomile tea. "You know, I was just about to head back to Columbia when I got the call from Tony. It's amazing he caught me in time. I tend to be hard to track down when I'm there," he said.
"Columbia? What's in Columbia?" Rhodey asked.
Bruce shrugged. "People that need my help, mostly? I like it because it's easy to keep a low profile and focus on my work when I don't have to be occupied with..." his voice trailed off. And Rhodey frowned.
"With?" he urged.
"Managing...all of the...concerns of life. There, people just want to get from one day to the next. Their needs are simple. You know?" Bruce said.
Rhodey nodded. "Sounds...peaceful," he remarked thoughtfully. "Though maybe a tad lonely, too?"
Bruce smiled and shrugged. "It is, I suppose. Yeah," he said. He put his spoon down and picked up his cup, palming it in both hands to take a sip.
Rhodey watched him for another moment, and then spoke. "You know, it's tough, isn't it? Balancing what we have to sacrifice with being able to maintain what our ideas of security are," he remarked. "You, for instance, choose to live in a place that allows a certain level of anonymity because that's what gives you a feeling of security. I went into the military because I wanted to do my part to help protect the country, so then I would feel safer. But, at the same time, what are we sacrificing to be able to do this, you know? It's what most people take for granted - companionship. A family. God knows, I'm married to my job. Dating is...a foregone conclusion for me for the most part. Not counting a couple of people I've dated from the base. But in the end, it's always the same result- our lives don't leave much room for romance, and we end up drifting apart."
"I hear you," Bruce said, nodding in affirmation. "And it makes sense. You can't have a positive without a negative. It's how the universe works, after all. Our lives are no exception."
Rhodey chuckled. "Spoken like a true scientist," he joked. "No wonder you and Tony are friends. You two speak the same language."
Bruce chuckled back.
"You know, not to beat a dead horse, but I really do appreciate you being there for him, in a way that I couldn't be," Rhodey said. "When most people look at him, they only see the money, and the mansions, but...that guy. He's been through a lot in his life. It's about time he gets a few personal wins."
"Another one who's had to sacrifice a lot to feel secure, I guess," Bruce offered, and Rhodey nodded in agreement. He hesitated to voice his next thoughts, as they were a bit personal to his best friend, but he decided to go on.
"You know, Bruce?" he began. "I'm...not sure that Tony would have...made it much longer if you guys hadn't have found a way to save Pepper," he said, his tone measured and cautious.
Bruce furrowed his brow, and shook his head. "I'm not sure I understand," he said.
Rhodey leaned forward. He folded his hands together, and looked at him intently. "I mean...she's...pretty damned important to him," he replied softly. "He may not have always wanted to admit it in the past, but Pepper's..." He paused to find the right words. "The cornerstone of his life in a lot of ways. A guiding light, so to speak. Not to sound too sappy or anything," he finished, with an impish smile.
Bruce smiled thoughtfully back. "I, uh...I kinda gathered that, yeah," he said softly, nodding in understanding.
Rhodey nodded back. "Yeah, without her, I'd hate to think what would happen to him," he said, his voice softening. Bruce watched him silently for a moment as Rhodey drifted in thought, his expression changing to a frown.
But soon his ruminations were disrupted by the waitress bringing their breakfast. She was a petite woman, with a long blond ponytail, and bright blue eyes. She smiled pleasantly at the both of them, but her eyes fell ultimately on Bruce. Bruce made eye contact with her, and noticed her lingering gaze. His cheeks instantly blushed, and he quickly looked away. She smirked at him knowingly, and then shifted her eyes to Rhodey. "Can I get you gentlemen anything else?" she asked.
"We're good, I think. Bruce?" he asked. Bruce looked at him, and Rhodey now held the same knowing smirk the waitress had had, clearly picking up on her flirting with him.
"Yeah, we're good. Th-thank you," Bruce stammered awkwardly.
She gave him an approving nod, and grinned. "Alrighty, then. Enjoy," she said, before swiveling around on her heels and walking away. Both men watched the sway in her hips for a moment before she disappeared back into the kitchen. Rhodey turned his eyes to Bruce. He nodded his head in the direction she'd gone.
"You know, she was eyeing you the last time we were in here, too. I think she likes you, Banner," he teased. "What about holding off on Columbia, and asking her out? She's cute, right?"
Bruce chuckled, and shook his head sheepishly. "You're as bad as Tony. He's always trying to fix me up, too. No wonder you guys are friends," he teased. Rhodey just chuckled before digging into his food.
XxXxXxXxXx
A while later, the men arrived at the hospital to find Pepper had just awakened again. She and Tony seemed to be in high spirits, as they'd both greeted the men with jovial smiles. Rhodey took special note of the light that had returned to Tony's eyes, and said another grateful thanks to Bruce for giving him back his friend.
"You two sure are bright and chipper," he quipped to them upon entering Pepper's room. The couple chuckled at him, and then looked at each other knowingly.
"Well, we certainly have plenty of reasons to be. Right, Pep?" Tony said, gazing lovingly at his wife. He grasped her hand, and squeezed it affectionately. Pepper gave him a soft smile back, and nodded, before he shifted his eyes back to Rhodey with a grin. "Cho said they're going to do a brain scan today. And, based on their findings from the exams, she expects very good results."
"That's fantastic," Bruce chimed in.
"It is," Tony agreed. "Thanks to you. Couldn't have done it without you, man."
Rhodey gave Bruce an approving nod, and he and Bruce shared knowing glances before turning their eyes back to Tony. "Oh. Here," Rhodey said, almost forgetting about the styrofoam box he was carrying. "We brought you back an omelet."
"Oh, awesome," Tony cooed, as he took it from his friend. He popped open the box, and looking at the contents with much appreciation. "Looks delicious. I'll tie into this the second I get back," he said.
Pepper frowned. "Where are you going?" she asked.
Tony closed the box, and set it aside for the moment, and then looked back at Pepper. "While you're in radiology, I thought I might run to get Mama Potts," he told her. "She's probably ready and waiting for me to pick her up, huh?"
"That would be wonderful. Thank you," Pepper purred gratefully to her husband.
"You bet," he said. He smiled, and raised up on the bed to plant a lingering kiss to her forehead. To which Pepper closed her eyes, relishing the affection.
He pulled back to look intently into her eyes, and smiled in adoration. She blushed and gave him a bashful smile.
"Go ahead, go," she said softly, playfully pushing him in the chest.
"Okay, fine. Just...hold on," he said, suddenly feigning deep concentration as he continued to stare into her eyes. He narrowed his eyes, and furrowed his brow.
"What? What are you looking at?" she asked, trying not to laugh.
Tony shrugged. "Just getting my Pepper fix until I come back," he joked. "Annnnnnnd...there we go," he joked, standing up abruptly. "I'm good. I can go now."
Pepper laughed at him, and he chuckled at her back. He winked and smiled at his wife before he raised her hand to his lips, kissing the back of it. "Bye, baby. See you in a bit," he said, before he turned to leave.
"Okay. Goodbye, goofball," Pepper joked back, watching him go. Bruce offered to stay behind, and see Pepper off to Radiology, and Tony thanked him.
As Tony left, Rhodey followed him.
"Hey, man, I'll walk you out. I gotta get to the base anyway," he said, as they strode toward the bank of elevators.
Tony nodded, and smiled in agreement. Once they reached it, he jabbed the down arrow with his finger. Rhodey glanced sidelong at his friend as they waited for the doors to open. He noticed Tony couldn't stop smiling, and this made Rhodey smile in return. God, it's been a long time since he's looked this happy, he noted proudly again to himself.
Tony felt Rhodey's eyes on him, and look at his friend with caution. "Hey, I know I'm a stunningly handsome fella and it's hard to take your eyes off me, but what are you waiting for? Get over yourself, and ask me out already," he teased.
Rhodey scoffed at Tony's joke. "If by fella, you mean jackass, then..." he jabbed back.
Tony chuckled. And Rhodey chuckled back. "No, it's just good to see you happy, man," he commented. "It's been a long time."
"It has. And I am," Tony replied, grinning. He was practically glowing, in Rhodey's opinion.
The elevator doors opened, and they stepped inside. Tony hit the button for the level with the parking garage. Rhodey watched as the wide grin returned to his friend's face. "Okay, spill it," he said finally. "Judging by how cutesy-woosty you guys are with each other, I have the feeling this isn't just about Pepper being awake, now. There's something more going on with you two, now, isn't there?" he prodded.
Tony chuckled, and smoothed a hand over his goatee. "It's that obvious, huh?" he asked sheepishly.
"Come on. You're as giddy as a school girl," Rhodey teased. Tony laughed out loud, and nodded.
"Yeah, well. If you must know, she, uh,...she's already...accepting that we're married," he revealed.
"Wow," Rhodey said, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "So...what does this mean, exactly? As far as her memory is concerned?"
Tony shrugged. "Don't know, for sure. But she said that she feels no point in denying what the present reality is, regardless of whether or not she can remember anything from the past at the moment. So..." he shrugged again. "I'll take it, I guess. I mean why not, right?"
"Does she want to try to remember, though?" Rhodey asked hopefully.
Tony nodded. "Oh, yeah. She's been asking me some questions. We talked about our first date. Our first kiss. The fact that our first kiss came before our first date," he said. They both chuckled. "It's slow, but sure. We don't want to force it though, you know? Do too much too fast? But..." He took a deep breath, and sighed, grinning again. "Man, it's felt good to be able to talk to her again," he said.
Rhodey smiled. "Yeah, I bet," he agreed. They rode in silence for a moment before Rhodey spoke again. "So...that kinda begs the question- since Pepper's memory only goes to 2008, when you guys were still just boss and employee..."
"There's something to the fact that she's being so accepting of our current relationship?" Tony asked, finishing Rhodey's thought with a smirk. Rhodey nodded in agreement. And Tony's smirk when to a full-blown Cheshire Cat grin once more. He started nodding, his eyes sparkling.
Rhodey chuckled happily at the sight. "After all these years," he mused, grinning. "You finally know she had feelings for you. Even back then."
"Oh, we'd talked a little about it before, so I wasn't totally unaware, but..." Tony assured. He paused, shaking his head and smiling. "It's still a little weird to me, you know? That despite the fact that she is seeing me as the 'old me' right now, and has no idea about anything that happened involving...Afghanistan, or me becoming Iron Man, she..." He paused again, shaking his head, still in disbelief. "She still sees something...redeemable in me."
Rhodey smiled and nodded encouragingly at his friend, and the two shared an understanding gaze. Then Rhodey broke the moment, and gave his friend a smirk. "Yeah, beats the shit outta me what she sees in you. Your guess is as good as mine," he quipped.
Tony spluttered, and broke out in laughter. And Rhodey just chuckled back.
Soon the elevator doors opened, and the two walked out into the parking garage. "I guess I've just got one question for you," Rhodey said.
"Shoot," Tony replied.
"You gonna tell her about all of that? I mean, before she hears about it some other way?" Rhodey asked.
Tony frowned, and worked his jaw in thought for a moment. They'd made it to where Tony's car was parked, and stopped walking just behind it. Tony shoved his hands in his pockets, and shook his head. "I don't know. I guess I can't answer that, yet," he replied.
Rhodey nodded. "Well, it's bound to surface sometime in the near future, buddy. My advice would be to get ahead of it, and find a way to break it to her. Soon. You wouldn't want the shock of you suddenly getting a phone call from Fury about a mission, and she's left wondering what in the hell is going on."
Tony nodded in agreement. "Yeah," he said softly. "I think you're right."
Rhodey nodded in approval. "Good," he replied, as he extended his hand. "I gotta take off, man."
Tony accepted his hand, and shook it, then the two gave each other a back-slapping, brotherly hug. "Seriously, though. I'm happy for ya'. So is Bruce, for that matter," Rhodey said, once they'd separated again. "He's a good guy, that one. Kinda quiet. Kinda cagey. But, you know. He seems to be the real deal. So, I'm glad you guys are friends. And I'm glad you were able to fix Pepper. You're a wreck without her, you know," he teased.
Tony chuckled at his joke, and then smiled appreciatively. "Yes, sir. I do know," he replied. "And thanks, man. It means a lot."
Rhodey nodded, and turned to go. Tony watched him walk away for a second, and then piped up to ask him a final question before they parted. "Out of curiosity?" he called out. "What did you guys find to talk about at breakfast?" he asked.
Rhodey swiveled around on his heels to answer him, but kept walking, just backwards, toward his truck. "You," he said bluntly, and threw on his sunglasses as he swiveled back around.
Tony frowned in confusion. "Me?! What about me?" he begged, positively antsy with the need to know.
"Oh, you know. Just the usual stuff. Later, Stark," Rhodey called back nonchalantly, trying to hide an amused smirk at how easy it was to get under Tony's skin.
Meanwhile, Tony stood stone still as he continued to watch Rhodey walk away from him, completely befuddled at his reply. "The usual stuff?" he muttered to himself. "What usual stuff?"
XxXxXxXxXx
Not long after Tony and Rhodey had left, Dr. Cho let Pepper and Bruce know it wouldn't be long before she'd be wheeled to radiology, and they thanked her.
"By the way, I haven't really had the chance to properly thank you for everything you've done for me, Dr. Banner," Pepper said, once Cho had gone.
Bruce spluttered and waved a dismissing hand. "Bruce. Just Bruce is fine," he assured her.
"Okay, then, Bruce," Pepper replied. "So, thank you."
Bruce smiled bashfully, and nodded. "You're most welcome," he murmured humbly back. "And I know it may sound strange to you, but Tony, he..." But he stopped, hesitating to carefully choose his words. "Cares for you a great deal," he finished. "So, because he's my friend, I wanted to do what I could to help him."
Pepper smiled. "It's okay, Bruce. You can say it. I know we're married," she assured him.
He gave her a sheepish smiled, and sighed in relief. "Okay, good," he said. "I didn't want to overstep my bounds, or say too much."
Pepper nodded in understanding, then shifted in her bed to get more comfortable, and smoothed the blankets around her before she spoke again. "You know, I'm sorry to say, I don't recall you from what memory I do have currently," she stated apologetically. Bruce just gave her a sympathetic smile. She continued. "So, I'm curious to know something," she said.
"I'll do my best to answer," Bruce replied simply, with a polite smile.
Pepper smiled gratefully and went on. "If you don't mind, I'd like to know- how did you and Tony meet?"