Chapter 7
Tony didn’t exactly plan on being the third wheel to Hope and Rhodey’s date but to be fair he didn’t think they intended on being soul mates and making googley eyes at each other all night. He was happy for them both though and he thought they’d make a great match. “I need you to be honest here Tony, do you think this thing with Hope will work out for me?” he asks.
“Why wouldn’t it?” Tony asks, frowning a little. If anyone could make a relationship work it’d be Hope and Rhodey, they were both the efficient types and they would actually communicate and such.
Rhodey rolls his eyes at him, “come on Tony, I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I’m a cripple,” he says as if this was some sort of obvious fact that meant something.
“You don’t have full use of your legs, so what? Is that supposed to like… impact something or something?” Tony asks, genuinely confused as to what Rhodey was on about.
“Don’t play stupid Tony, I’m not exactly an ideal sub. I can’t even feel anything below the waist, how the hell do you work with that?” Rhodey asks.
“No clue but that doesn’t mean you can’t find out. You’re hardly the first sub to be in a wheel chair. Maybe you should take a class or something, that might give you some ideas on how to deal with your current body and how to be a good sub despite you mobility issues,” Tony says. He’s never had a disabled sub but he didn’t think it’d be much of an issue per se, at least so long as boundaries and limitations were clear but that was the same with any sub. Just in this case those boundaries were a bit more physical in nature.
Rhodey sighs, “of couse you’d be fine with all of this. I should have suspected as much. You’ve always liked a challenge of sorts and this would definitely give you a run for your money. I just… I can’t be the sub I was before and what if that isn’t good enough?” he asks.
“Than Hope is an asshole and you’re better off anyways, Rhodey. This isn’t the end of your days as a good sub; you just need to figure out how to deal with being a sub without the use of your legs. You can do that I know you can, and if you want I can help.” He had a few ideas already though he wasn’t entirely sure if they were to Rhodey’s tastes kink-wise. Hope was plenty resourceful though, Tony had no doubt that she and Rhodey could work something out.
Rhodey seems to consider his words for a long while before he speaks again. “You really believe that?” he asks quietly.
“Have I ever been known for saying stuff I don’t believe no matter how stupid?” he asks. He had a bit of a reputation for being quotable and the only time he went back on his opinions is when he learned they were wrong. Otherwise he saw little reason to say things he didn’t mean and it got him into a lot of trouble. People didn’t often like that level of honesty, and the media liked to run with his words in ways he didn’t intend for them to.
“Yeah I suppose that’s true. But I just don’t see how I can… I don’t know, do stuff like this. Like I can’t even kneel, what the hell is that?” Rhodey throws his hands up in frustration and Tony supposes he could see where Rhodey was coming from but Rhodey had a point- he’s sort of always enjoyed a challenge and anything that fell outside the norm.
“So what? Like I said, you aren’t the first person in a wheel chair to have run into these issues so look stuff up, research. People have had to have come up with different ways to submit that work better with the way your body works now. So you can’t kneel, find something new that works just as well. Trust me, Hope is resourceful and creative, and she likes a challenge as much as I do. I doubt your legs will be much of a hindrance to her.” If it was an issue it wouldn’t be Rhodey’s problem anyways, it would be Hope’s. It would hardly be Rhodey’s fault his Dom was too lacking in the creativity and human decency department to find a way to work with his disability.
“Thanks man. I appreciate that,” Rhodey says eventually but Tony knows what the words mean to him even if they weren’t eloquent. Rhodey wasn’t typically self-conscious, that was usually Tony’s thing, but he was happy to help where he could. It wasn’t like he got the opportunity often because Rhodey sort of always had his shit together, for once it was nice to take care of Rhodey instead of the other way around.
*
“So he’s unsure at the moment? I sensed that,” Hope says, drinking her tea delicately. It was an odd gesture from someone Tony didn’t typically associate with a delicate nature.
“He is and if you make it worse don’t think I won’t do everything in my power to destroy you. I will and you know damn well that I’m more than capable. He’s been through enough lately, he doesn’t need anymore bullshit,” Tony tells her, tone harsh and commanding.
It catches Hope by surprise, he can tell, but she recovers quickly. “I never really took you for the shovel talk type but I suppose you have been friends with Rhodey for a good two and a half decades. That’s a lot of history,” she says and pauses, her shoulders falling a little. “I might need that to be honest. Something tells me that Rhodey won’t be an easy sub to deal with.”
Tony would like to argue that because he knew the statement to be false, but that was before Rhodey’s life took a massive turn for the screwy. “You have to understand that everything in his life as he knew it is gone. His military career, his superhero status, his legs, everything is affected by his new mobility issues and the physical therapy helps but it isn’t going to get him his legs back and we all know it. He can’t do most anything the way he used to and the learning curve is a hard one to adjust to for him right now. Your appearance now was piss poor in timing but I guess there’s no better time than the present to learn how to be a sub with a disability.” He would have had to learn eventually anyways, might as well do it with someone who was supposed to be his soul mate and perfect match.
Besides, there had to be whole communities for this sort of thing with tips. Tony was going to look into it if for no other reason than curiosity because disability was not something he had ever considered in kink. Now he had an excuse to look it up he guessed, and he wasn’t sure Rhodey would do the research himself. He knew that this was taking its toll on Rhodey even if he didn’t want to admit it and Tony has always enjoyed learning new things and expanding knowledge. Plus thinking of things differently would certainly be a help to him in other areas. Doing things outside the box was the way he preferred to do things and if Hope was going to come to him for help he needed to be prepared for that.
“I’ve never had a sub with a disability before,” Hope says, “I’m not even certain where to begin with that but I guess I’ll have to learn.”
“Guess you will, but I’d expect Rhodey to resist a little. He isn’t any more sure of how to do this than you. Tread lightly,” he advises, a slight undertone of protectiveness to his tone.
Hope smiles just a little, “don’t worry Tony, I have no intentions on hurting Rhodey.”
*
T’Challa is not sure how this was supposed to work or even if this will work. Tony stands in the center of the room confidently, seemingly unworried about T’Challa despite his history of being a difficult sub. It was not as if he neglected to warn Tony either, he had if for no other reason than to prepare him for the inevitable failure of the dynamic. T’Challa was not certain how he managed to kill nearly every relationship he has had with a Dom but it seemed to be a specialty of his. But he refused to deal with incompetence simply to stroke someone’s ego- it was not his problem if a Dom was bad at being a Dom though they certainly liked to resent him like it was.
“Kneel,” Tony tells him in a quite voice though the command in it was impossible to miss. Interesting- T’Challa was generally used to more immediate force, especially in the tone of voice. He does as he is asked though and settles on his knees but only because he was curious, not because he felt any sort of need to follow Tony’s instructions. Research suggested all subs felt the need to obey their Doms but T’Challa was living proof that that research has only unearthed one kind of sub. He has never felt compelled to listen to anyone’s orders and he was more than happy to tell a Dom that. They did not like it much but he had little patience for wasting his own time and it was useless to waste someone else’s time too. Voicing his feelings simply saved everyone time and effort, he did not do it to intentionally insult people.
“You’re a king, T’Challa, present yourself like one,” Tony tells him, tone sharp and commanding. That T’Challa felt, his back straightening and his muscles relaxing almost against his will. Oh. That was certainly interesting though he could have resisted had he wanted to. But he did not and that was new to him. “You look surprised, why?” Tony asks. His tone was less harsh, but the command still tinged what his words.
“I do not usually feel compelled to follow orders. Nor has anyone ever acknowledged my political position as a sub.” Some were brave enough to mention it outside of the dynamic but that was rare. He was certain that no one would have ever mentioned his being the king if he was back home.
He can hear Tony step forward towards him but he keeps his head bowed slightly until Tony tips his head up. “You’re a king, you run a country, and you’re a world leader too. That’s impressive for a number of reasons and it gives you power. I’m not in the business of letting that give you power here. Here you’re my sub and you’ll know your place. Being a king doesn’t change that, but it does mean I know you know what good behavior is. I expect you to reflect your position in the way you present yourself so don’t give me some half baked kneel again. Do it like you mean it,” Tony tells him, command heavy in his voice and he lets his fingers fall from under T’Challa’s chin.
His head falls back down into a bow on its own accord and he murmurs, “ndiyaqonda,” without thinking, realizing too late that Tony did not speak the language. He does not respond so T’Challa supposes he did not need a translation to know that T’Challa agreed to the terms.