Work Text:
Rhodey groaned as he relaxed into the bed. JARVIS turned the lights off and Rhodey settled back further into the pillows.
Today had been a crazy day, especially after the bringing Tony home and the press conference that had followed. Rhodey was exhausted, not having slept since the flight from Germany to New York. Tony had been antsy on the flight from New York to California, and Rhodey couldn’t convince him to rest. After everything that had happened, Rhodey was just ready to collapse into bed and pass out. He rarely slept in a real bed these last couple of weeks, refusing to leave Tony’s bedside in Landstuhl Regional in Germany. Most nights he slept in the chair by Tony’s bed, keeping an eye on him and barely getting any sleep.
He had hardly been able to keep his eyes off of Tony since they found him. Three long months of searching and, shame though he was to admit it, his mission had begun to feel less like a search and rescue and more like a recovery mission. Of course, he would have kept going anyway, exhausting every resource and pulling every string, never giving up until he had found Tony. But he had been beginning to doubt Tony would still be alive when he did.
He had never felt more relieved than when that call came in, letting them know of a random explosion near a cave in the middle of Afghanistan. That’s Tony, he could remember thinking, gathering up his team and heading out, feeling more hopeful than he had in awhile. It has to be Tony.
Once he had gotten his boy back he was afraid to let him out of his sight for a minute. Tony hadn’t complained, unnervingly silent and demure on the plane as they flew back to Ramstein before getting shipped over to Landstuhl. He’d clung to Rhodey, not letting anyone near him until Rhodey had convinced him that it was okay, that they were trying to help. Rhodey remembered the look of fear in Tony’s eyes when he’d lashed out at the medic who tried to touch his chest.
So Rhodey had sat next to that hospital bed, afraid to leave Tony’s side. He had been too afraid to close his eyes or look away for too long, so scared that when he turned back Tony would be gone, and he’d wake up a realize it was all a dream.
But he was real and he was alive and while Tony was… different, he was still recovering, and nobody returned from being held captive by terrorists for three months and remained exactly the same.
Once the press conference was over and Obie and Tony had a chance to talk, they had returned to the mansion. It had been late, and Pepper and Rhodey could tell Tony was starting to lag, his face wrinkled in pain no matter how hard he tried to hide it. They’d given him his pain medicine and helped him to bed, telling him to call if he needed anything before going back to the living room. Rhodey had held Pepper while she cried (thankfully tears of joy and relief this time, instead of the fear and agony he had faced last time), and after she had cried herself out and they had eaten, they decided to retire for the night as well.
And Rhodey was completely ready to go to sleep, the exhaustion of the last two weeks, hell, of the last three and a half months finally catching up with him. He rolled over and let his body relax more into the bed, ready for sleep to claim him.
Just as he was on the cusp of sleep he heard someone quietly open his bedroom door before soft footsteps led to the side of his bed. He rolled over to look at who had entered his room and JARVIS raised the lights just enough for him to see.
Tony was standing there, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides, bags under his eyes, and a look of uncertainty and anxiousness Rhodey hadn’t seen on his face in a long time.
“Tony, what are you doing in here?” Rhodey asked, sitting up fully. “I thought you went to bed hours ago?”
Tony nodded, looking back at the door as though unsure if he should leave, before he turned his gaze back to Rhodey’s lap. He’s embarrassed about something, won’t look me in the eye.
“I did for a bit,” Tony began, voice a little hoarse. He cleared his throat before continuing. “I mean… the meds knocked me out for a couple hours but I… I woke up and I… I can’t sleep.”
Rhodey nodded. He knew this would happen eventually after everything the man went through, and if he was being honest he was surprised this hadn’t become a problem before now.
“Do you know why?” Rhodey asked, patting the bed next to him.
Tony moved forward as if to sit down but stopped himself, looking down at his hands which were now playing with his fingers.
“It was too quiet,” Tony said softy. “I got used to there being noise and it was too… too quiet.”
Again, Rhodey was familiar with the feeling.
“I thought you installed that sound machine thing in JARVIS?”
“No, I mean - “ Tony cut off, suddenly sounding distressed. “It’s stupid, I can handle it. I shouldn’t have come in here -”
“Hey, hey, hey, no,” Rhodey protested, reaching out and grabbing Tony’s wrist gently. “That’s not what I meant.”
Tony was frozen, staring down at Rhodey’s hand on his wrist with a blank look on his face. He opened his mouth then closed it again, his body tight with tension.
Rhodey squeezed his wrist lightly in encouragement.
“I’m not used to being alone,” Tony whispered. “The… the breathing.”
Tony paused again and Rhodey kept his hand on Tony’s wrist, waiting for him to continue.
“I got used to hearing someone else breathing. With you, in the hospital, and in the cave -” Tony cut himself off suddenly, eyes flicking back to the floor in an attempt to hide the wetness Rhodey had already seen gathering there. “There’s always someone else breathing.”
Rhodey’s heart clenched. Seeing the… the arc reactor in Tony’s chest in the hospital had given Rhodey some suspicion that Tony hadn’t been the only hostage in that cave. None of The Ten RIngs’ men had been smart enough to perform that kind of surgery, and no way in hell Tony did it to himself, so they must have had someone else. And if the way Tony was acting was any indication….
“Okay,” Rhodey nodded. “Easy solution then. Come here.”
He pulled on Tony’s wrist so that Tony swayed towards the bed, and Rhodey pushed back the covers and scooted over in the enormous bed.
“…what?”
“You can sleep in here,” Rhodey shrugged. “It’s not big deal. It’s not like we haven’t shared a bed before.”
Tony stood there contemplating for a moment before nodding slightly and shakily climbing into the bed. When he lay down he was facing away from Rhodey, still not meeting his eyes. Sure, they used to share a bed sometimes back at MIT when things were rough. When Rhodey was stressing over exams or when Tony’s anxiety was acting up. But Rhodey understood, that was a long time ago and this was different. Tony was very proud and liked his independence. It probably embarrassed him enough that he had come to Rhodey for help, not to mention he must’ve been frustrated that he needed help in the first place.
Rhodey got comfortable and told JARVIS to lower the lights again. Tony was lying still and stiff in the bed, not yet relaxed. Rhodey watched Tony for a moment before deciding to close his eyes and try to get some sleep. Maybe treating this situation like it was nothing would let Tony realize that Rhodey didn’t mind, and hopefully would ease some of that embarrassment he felt.
Rhodey had only closed his eyes for a couple of minutes before he felt the bed shift again. Next thing he knew, Tony had rolled over to face him, scooting down the bed enough that Rhodey’s head was above his. Tony moved forward slowly and gingerly like he was minding his wounds but also giving Rhodey time to move away from him or stop him if he didn’t want it.
Rhodey said nothing and watched until Tony had moved forward so that his body was pressed against Rhodey’s, burying his face in Rhodey’s chest and wrapping his arms tightly around him. Rhodey could feel Tony shaking slightly in his arms and quickly reached around to wrap Tony up, pulling him subconsciously closer. He buried his face into Tony’s hair, breathing in the scent of his shampoo and something else that was so uniquely Tony.
He held Tony close as he shook a little harder in his arms, simply squeezing Tony tighter when he felt a wet spot seeping through his shirt on his chest. He whispered reassurances to him, struggling to keep the tears gathering in his own eyes at bay. And when Tony finally stopped shaking and his breathing evened out, Rhodey continued to hold him, continued whispering reassurances into Tony’s hair.
“I got you. You’re safe. I won’t let anyone take you from me again.”