tony and rhodey met at M.I.T during tony’s junior year. they had both enrolled in the same class and from there a friendship began. that friendship turned into being best friends and years later into marriage. they were absolutely inseparable, practically mended together at the hip. but the longer they were married, the less they felt like wanting to be married. they were still best friends and adored each other, they just didn’t love each other like they did when they said their vows.
tony had already moved out of the home they bought together years ago. he wanted rhodey to have it since it was rhodey’s favorite of the 2 they had been debating about. today was the day they took down all the pictures and moved all the tiny things out of the house. they both dreaded this particular step of the separation. perhaps, they thought, that if the pictures stayed up they’d both realize they still longed for each other. they knew it was silly. they knew the fire had burned out, the embers no longer danced or glowed.
tony knocked and the dark brown door and waited patiently for rhodey to open it. he still had his keys but he couldn’t bare to open the door. rhodey opened the door. he gave tony a sad smile. “you ready?” rhodey asked softly. “not really,” tony replied honestly, his shoulders shrugging. he slipped his shoes off by the front door before making their way down the hallway. their wedding night was the first night they slept in the house together.
they didn’t want to rent a hotel room like you see in movies or tv shows. they wanted their special wedding night to be spending the first night in their home together. they both had apartments and spent equal time at each other’s. closets divided in half. but now they had a home together. they had dreamt about raising kids together in this home. they could build a tree house in the backyard or even a little climbing set with a slide. they could start a garden with their children in the front yard. they dreamt about the rest of their life being in this home. alas, that is not how their story turned out.
with tony and rhodey being iron man and war machine, plus rhodey having his priorities with his military job and tony having his priorities with being an avenger, they never stopped for a moment to discuss taking the step of having a child. that was their biggest regret, not stopping for a moment to realize they’d been slipping from each other’s fingertips before it was too late. they hadn’t realized the number of their destiny had been inching faster and faster as each day went on. until it hit zero.
they stopped when they got to the wall. the wall of pictures that had been built up from when their friendship first bloomed to the end of their marriage. rhodey grabbed tony’s hand, he squeezed his hand for a short second and rubbed his thumb across tony’s palm. a gesture to let tony know “i know, i feel the same.” rhodey was the first to take a picture off the wall. it was one of the first pictures they took together.
they had gone to a museum of fine arts that day, per rhodey’s suggestion. while at the musuem they thought it would be funny to recreate the stills from the paintings and had a random stranger take a picture of them using tony’s camera. tony was holding rhodey’s hand and they were both in a fit of laughter trying to imitate the pose behind them. after they finished looking at all the art in the museum they went to get hot chocolate. after all, it was winter time and they both loved chocolate. tony walked rhodey home that night before he went home. that became a regular tradition in their M.I.T days. go to a museum then go get hot chocolates.
though neither of them admitted it, they would stare at a picture for a minute to recall in their heads what had happened in the picture and then would take it down, placing it in either tony’s box of keepsakes or rhodey’s box. they continued taking pictures down but tony stopped for a second. he spoke. “i hate that we’re taking our pictures off the wall.” he turned to face rhodey. “i guess we’re both still processing our whole world’s been turned upside down,” rhodey said quietly. tony made sure to study rhodey’s face in the short time he had while rhodey spoke. he noted how beautiful rhodey was.
tony took down the next picture. it was from their M.I.T graduation. they had been dating for a couple months at this point. they had already gotten their diplomas and were now doing celebratory pictures. “we did it,” rhodey smiled at tony. “i’m proud of you,” tony said. “and i, you,” rhodey spoke sweetly before pulling him in for a kiss. tony was wearing an orange scented lip balm, rhodey’s favorite. rhodey’s hands were placed on tony’s waist, tony’s on rhodey’s cheeks. they shared a short, tender kiss and hadn’t realized that rhodey’s mom snapped a picture of them without noticing.
tony went to place that picture in his box before quickly putting it in rhodey’s. they didn’t say anything and continued taking down pictures. rhodey placed his hand on their wedding day picture. this was the heaviest picture to take down, it tugged the hardest at their hearts.
“rhodey, i promise to love you in sickness and in health, until the end of time. i am so grateful to be able to love you, care for you and be your other half.” tony was struggling not to cry during their vows, he was a huge softie. “tony, i promise to be there for you through everything. i promise to love you no matter what, through sickness and in health, until the end of time. you are mine always.” rhodey smiled graciously. they put on each other’s rings seconds later and shared a sweet kiss. time had stopped and the earth stood still. nobody else was there in that moment, just the two of them.
that night they returned to their home, already furnished and set up. they chowed down on ice cream and wine. they laid in each other’s arms in lounge clothes and watched their favorite tv show. they couldn’t believe they were officially married. they were husbands.
they had made their promises. they had said their vows. yet standing there, taking pictures off the wall, they felt the opposite of the day they got married. they still loved each other but they didn’t love each other. they wondered what they could have done to stop each other from falling out of love. when did their “i love you”s become empty beacons of words? when did they stop thinking of each other when they weren’t with each other? when did they slip from each other’s fingertips?
they felt their hearts break a little bit more with each picture that came down off the wall. they recalled every scene that went along with the images frozen in time. up until the very last picture at the end of the hallway, taken only months ago. they looked so happy.
they were at a friend’s birthday party. their friend had a bonfire in their backyard and everyone was drinking. tony and rhodey sat on the hammock in each other’s arms. tony had his head rested against rhodey’s firm chest. he could hear his heartbeat and feel his chest heave up and down slowly. rhodey was rubbing tony’s arm softly with his fingers. it was peaceful.
the final picture was placed into the box. that was it. that was their entire history now boxed. most likely to sit in a closet or storage and not be opened again. this was not goodbye. they still would be in each other’s lives, just not as husbands anymore. they’d still be partners, just not romantically. they shared one final hug, both of them not wanting to let go but knowing they had to. tony slipped on his shoes then handed rhodey his keys to the house.
“hey, tony?” rhodey said softly.
“yeah?” tony hummed.
“i don’t know how to say goodbye,” rhodey shrugged.
“then don’t,” tony smiled.
tony closed the door behind him as he walked out. he took one last look at the house he had spent years in with his soulmate, soaking all of it in one last time. he turned on his heels, and walked to his car.