Chapter Text
Rhodey is woken abruptly by a heavy weight landing on the bed between them and a startled yelp from Tony. Though the weight has landed mostly on Tony, a stray knee definitely hits Rhodey none too gently in the side, and he grumbles, pulling his pillow over his head in protest. It feels like he only fell asleep a few minutes ago and he’d very much like to return to it.
“We’re here!” A voice announces from above him, too loud. Rhodey squashes the pillow tighter over his head, not that it does any good.
“Yeah, I think I got that,” Tony says, still sounding sleepy and more than a little annoyed by the sudden awakening, though Rhodey knows he can’t stay mad at the kid. He does hear a thud and a quiet oof, though, that tells him Tony just pushed their unexpected guest onto the floor, and he laughs into his pillow, giving up on sleep entirely and sitting up.
Harley pops back up to his feet with an ease Rhodey envies—young joints, how he misses them—and gives Tony a shit-eating grin that doesn’t bode well. “It’s Resurrection Day,” he announces, sing-song and unrepentant.
Tony groans and flops back onto the bed, now pulling his own pillow over his face. Harley laughs outright and Rhodey can’t help it, he joins in. The name is Tony’s reward for waffling around too long and never giving his own opinion on what to call the holiday when asked. It had been gaining traction on social media over the weeks and even months leading up to today, and without Tony’s official suggestion to follow, enough news outlets co-opted the most popular one among the public that eventually the government caught on, and soon Resurrection Day was announced as the official name of the holiday celebrating the defeat of Thanos and the end of the invasion.
Despite Tony’s embarrassment—which his family has used to harass him daily since the announcement—Rhodey knows that the name isn’t just about him. There’s no doubt that it is in part; Tony’s the one who defeated Thanos and freed the world, after all, and he was literally resurrected on that day. But it’s more than that. It’s symbolic, for the resurrection of the world. Humanity was freed on the day Tony killed Thanos, but the recovery has taken a long time—and is still ongoing—and in a way, the entire world has been rebuilt over the last year.
As Tony once said at an expo that now seems lifetimes ago, they’ve risen from the ashes of captivity—in this case, Thanos’s death camps and his reign of terror—and have had to remake themselves anew, as a world, as a civilization. It seems apt to call it Resurrection Day.
But it doesn’t stop Tony from nearly rolling his eyes whenever anyone says the name, having to practice great restraint not to do it in front of any cameras or politicians. Though, admittedly, the way Rhodey, Stephen, and the others have been making fun of him for it might have quite a bit to do with that. They couldn’t really help it after they saw the way Tony would become awkward and try to change the topic every time the name was brought up in the last few weeks. Rhodey considers it practically a duty to poke at Tony over something harmless that still embarrasses him like this.
Rhodey pulls himself out of bed and sneaks into the closet and then the bathroom while Tony is busy being tackled in a hug and then punched on the shoulder by Harley. By the time he emerges and gets his own enthusiastic greeting, he’s at least looking presentable. Tony dashes off to clean up and change as soon as Harley’s attention is on Rhodey.
Harley talks nearly nonstop all the way from their bedroom—it’s not as though they lock any doors on their floor and they had told security to let Harley and his family up as soon as he arrived, but Rhodey still wasn’t expecting to be woken by Harley pouncing on their bed—out to the main areas and into the kitchen. Tony interjects occasionally, but mostly just listens with a dumb, sappy grin on his face that Rhodey will absolutely mock him for later if he remembers to.
Roberta Rhodes is standing at the stove, spatula in hand and apron on and looking every bit the indulgent and loving grandmother she was always meant to be. The smell of bacon is already filling the room. At the table are an unfamiliar woman and a girl, Harley’s mother and sister, each with glasses of juice. Harley bounds over to sit with them and introduce them to Tony.
“Now, what on God’s green Earth is filling this kitchen with so much noise so early in the morning?” Roberta says from her place at the stove, her smile taking any heat from her words.
“Sorry, Mrs. Rhodes,” Harley says from the table, though his grin says he’s not sorry at all and doesn’t intend to be any quieter.
Rhodey rounds the counter to stop and exchange a kiss on the cheek with his mother before he goes to the table. “Morning, mom. I told you yesterday you didn’t have to cook.” She arrived yesterday afternoon, coming up from Georgia to be with them on the holiday, and also to see them for the first time since their visit down there months ago. Rhodey’s kept in contact, of course, keeping her updated, but it’s not the same as actually having her here, even if it’s just for a day.
To his immense pleasure, things immediately seemed to be back to normal between her, Rhodey, and Tony. With most, if not all, of Tony’s emotional issues now resolved, any reservations she had about him months ago seem to have disappeared completely, and she’s treating him with every ounce of affection and love she has.
She chuckles. “And you knew I would anyway. It’s fine, sweetheart, now go sit down and distract that boy or he’s going to eat everything I make before that poor little sister of his gets a single bite.”
Rhodey laughs and makes his way to the table, sitting down next to Tony and across from Harley’s family, allowing Tony to make introductions with a smile. Harley’s mother seems great, shaking Rhodey’s hand over the table with a grip that says she could probably knife him without a moment’s hesitation but a smile that tells him she won’t. Her face is lined, aged prematurely by hardship; no doubt being walked out on by a deadbeat husband and having to raise two children alone in a small town without much money hasn’t been easy in any sense. But when she smiles, some of that pain is erased from her features.
Harley’s sister looks just enough like him and his mother to complete the family picture. She’s still young and relatively shy at first, but as the conversation progresses through breakfast—a hearty meal provided by Rhodey’s mother, who eventually joins them and takes immediately to mothering the living heck out of the little girl—she opens up more and more, eventually overtaking most of the conversation she started with Rhodey, while Harley and Tony talk tech off to the side and the two mothers discuss politics over their slowly disappearing eggs.
Just as they’re finishing up breakfast, they’re interrupted by the arrival of their next set of guests: Peter and May. Peter, as usual, makes a beeline for Tony, then spends an amusing few minutes in some kind of silent standoff with Harley. Not wanting to get in the middle of whatever the hell that is, Rhodey busies himself with introducing all of the ladies to each other.
His mother is already offering to cook more breakfast for May and Peter. May tries to object, saying that they’ve arrived late, which Roberta naturally insists is nonsense, already making her way back to the stove to put on more bacon and eggs. Rhodey, knowing his mother’s stubbornness and also well aware that even if they ate before they left, Peter can probably put away another two grown men’s portions of food, just tells May with a laugh to stop protesting and accept that they’re now having more breakfast.
May makes one last attempt, offering to help cook this time instead of trying to insist they don’t need food. Roberta, not knowing May, looks like she’s going to accept that offer for a moment. Before Rhodey can say anything—having experienced May’s disastrous attempts at cooking several times now—Peter whips around from across the room to shout her down, driven either by enhanced hearing or the innate radar every teenager has for potential embarrassment. Laughing, May concedes that she probably shouldn’t be anywhere near an open flame and goes to hug Tony in greeting.
Despite May and Peter arriving after the rest of them had already eaten breakfast, they’re not late at all; it’s early in the morning, earlier than they would usually be up and eating breakfast. The plans for the day are extensive and they’ve got a lot to do. For most of them, it’s mostly enjoying the new holiday, but Tony has some appearances to make. He agreed to give a speech, and they’re supposed to be walking in the parade that’s happening later. He’s been contacted regarding at least thirty dedications and awards that people are planning to present to him today—obviously, he can’t make all of them, but there are a few here in the city that he’s agreed to be present for. Even though it’s meant to be a symbolic thing for the entire world, there’s no doubt that everyone does want a glimpse of Tony himself on Resurrection Day.
Rhodey and Tony both threw on some casual clothes after being so rudely awoken by Harley earlier, but once the extended breakfast with Peter and May is done, they head back to their room to change into something a little more presentable for the public. One of the awards being presented today—a recognition from the New York City police force—as well as the dedication of a new building over in Queens are actually meant to be for the entirety of the Sentinels, not just Tony, so Rhodey has to make some public appearances today as well.
Once they’re changed—Rhodey keeps to just business casual, whereas Tony, who’s going to be in a lot more eyes and on a lot more cameras today, wears a full suit—they make their way back into the kitchen, where the rest of the extended, odd but beloved family is ready and waiting, fixing hair and adjusting clothes at the last minute. Rhodey surveys the room with a smile, and they all leave together when Tony gives the go-ahead.
One of Tony’s awards is first, something put together by several hundred employees of businesses all throughout the city whose jobs and lives were brought back on track quickly after the invasion thanks to Tony and his efforts with SI. After the invasion ended and the recovery began, thousands of people in New York and around the world got assistance from Tony, housing if they needed it, food, anything their families required.
The weeks immediately after the invasion were hard. Everyone was still trying to find family and friends, pick up the pieces of their lives and figure out where to begin rebuilding. Tony had reached out first, and yes, he was hoping that by helping his employees and their families, they would be able to return to work sooner and get the company running again, but even that was for charitable means. For the first month it was back up and running, SI gave all of its products and services away without asking anything in return. Even when money started changing hands again, SI focused entirely on helping the recovery from the invasion, and never gouged prices. It was only in the last few months, in fact, that SI really started turning a serious profit once again and making up for its major losses during and after the invasion. People remember that Tony and his company were dedicated to helping them even at Tony’s own expense, and they’re grateful for that, though many others were of course doing the same.
And Tony was still the one to make the moves that allowed so many others to devote themselves to charity during the recovery. He never demanded that anyone put in a certain number of hours or compensate him in any way for the personal funds he used to get the company back up and running. He didn’t even expect anyone to return to work at all; he hoped they would, but he never would have demanded it. He understood that people needed to rebuild their lives and put themselves and their families first. Really, it was another example of the incredible kindness and generosity of people, even in a global crisis, that there was such an overwhelming response to Tony’s assistance. SI employees were responding to Tony’s efforts by coming back to work harder and longer than ever before, pulling new people into the company, some of them even refusing pay to try to make up for what Tony did for them—at least, until Rhodey found out about it and reported it to Tony, who made sure that they were fairly compensated for every hour they’d put in since the invasion.
It’s not only SI employees in this crowd, though they’re by far the largest contingent. There are others too, from many different professions. When SI began producing so early after the invasion, bringing help to areas that needed it the most and at the same time encouraging the return to normal life—not to mention seriously stimulating the economy, when it began recovering—in the areas where SI was operating, that helped everyone else around them. Tony really saved the world in more ways than one.
What they present to Tony isn’t much—a modest plaque engraved with a message of thanks—but it’s not about that. It’s the size of the crowd, the gratitude on their faces, the real emotion in the short speeches that are given by a few who have personal stories about the impact Tony’s made on them, and the way the cheers in the crowd go on and on when Tony accepts his award.
It takes a long time for Tony to make his way back through the crowd to where Rhodey and the rest are waiting for him. He’s stopped every few feet by someone who wants to share their story, to thank him personally, and of course, he indulges them all, meeting people, shaking their hands, humbly accepting their thanks, their tears. His own eyes look suspiciously watery by the time he makes it to where his own little group awaits.
Rhodey takes the time to put a hand on his shoulder and look into his eyes, asking without words if he’s going to be okay. It’s great to be thanked and to be recognized for all of the work he’s put in, for his generosity and the incredible things he’s done, but it’s still a lot to handle all at once. Hearing these people’s stories, receiving their profoundest gratitude, it’s putting a heavy emotional burden on Tony.
Tony looks like he’s approaching the point where he’ll need to escape an atmosphere like this, but he’s okay for the moment, Rhodey can tell. They exchange nods and gather Peter, Harley, and the ladies to move on to the next ceremony they’re slated to attend. Thankfully, most of the rest of today’s events aren’t likely to be so personal, so intensely emotional.
The next event of the day is the police dedication. Stephen catches up with them just as they’re entering the area that’s been cordoned off for the event, smiling and shaking hands politely with Harley’s family and Rhodey’s mother—he’s already met May and both of the boys, in person or over video chats in Harley’s case. Four of the other current East Coast-based Sentinels, who’ve all recently moved to New York to train as a team with Tony, Rhodey, Stephen, and Peter, join them just as they’re all called onto the stage to actually receive the recognition.
They’re each given a small, framed certificate, more to have something to physically give them than for any real meaning in the pieces of paper, but they’re appreciated nonetheless. Each of them shake hands with the police commissioner and they all receive a resounding cheer from the crowd that’s gathered here. Many of them are cops, but some of the crowd members have followed them from the first event, planning to attend multiple events honoring Tony and his team today.
There are more greetings exchanged after the presentation is over, the rest of the Sentinels curious to meet the boy from Tennessee that Tony talks about all the time, as well as the woman who raised the now famous Colonel Rhodes. There’s so much activity by now, with most of the city out on the streets celebrating, plus several million—at least—visitors who’ve flooded in in the last week or so, that Rhodey starts finding it hard to keep track of everything going on.
At one point, on the journey to the next ceremony—the new building dedication in Queens that’s also meant for all of the Sentinels—Rhodey realizes that most of the crowd is moving with them. It’s like being at the world’s biggest boardwalk party. The celebrations and the excited, even elated mood are infectious, and even though Rhodey’s not usually one for crowds and knows Tony isn’t either, neither of them can stop smiling.
The building dedication goes as smoothly as the police ceremony had, with each of them shaking hands with the officials who put the whole thing together and then smiling for the cameras as they stand in front of the newly constructed performing arts center. There’s a cheerful speech about how the new building is a true sign of recovery and how the efforts of the Sentinels are what protect the peace that allows the fine arts to continue. Tony manages to be the one to cut the traditional ribbon with the giant scissors, which makes Rhodey laugh, mostly at the sheer ridiculous joy on his face.
They head back toward the Tower, driving this time in the cars that come by themselves at a signal from Tony’s phone, and bring the rest of the Sentinels along with them for a quick lunch before they have to be back out in the city again. Peter complains over lunch about not getting to receive his own awards in person, even though Tony had been given extras for the few who weren’t able to make it today, including Spiderman.
They’d decided ahead of time that Peter would just remain as Peter Parker today, instead of worrying about going out in costume and having to remain masked all day. Not that he would really have minded, Rhodey suspects, but it is nice to not have to even think about it all day. Peter’s now a well-known Stark intern and SI employees have seen and worked with him in the lab so much that it’s not noteworthy to see him out and about with Tony. They’ve also seen May plenty of times in conjunction with Peter.
May wanted to come along and enjoy the day with the rest of them today, and they’d agreed that seeing her without Peter might have been bordering on suspicious even for employees of SI, who would wonder where Peter was. And there’s no doubt that the images of their entire group will be all over the media after today, and people will speculate. They’ll find out who May is and through her, who Peter is. If she were alone, and if Spiderman, the young superhero who hasn’t revealed his identity to the public, was seen with Tony and the rest, the connection would be made.
No doubt people will make some connections anyway. The media and the internet are always full of rumors and speculation, and with all of the different theories out there, usually there’s someone who hits on the truth. No doubt people will notice that Spiderman is missing, and they’ll note the presence of two teenage boys hanging out with Tony today, and some will probably conclude that it’s one of them. But it won’t be too many, and usually, if they just ignore the rumors and don’t draw attention by either confirming or denying anything, nothing will come of it.
They laugh and joke over lunch, Peter talks about tech he’s been developing for his suit that he thinks can be incorporated into the others’ if they want it, the newer members of the team hear stories from Harley about how he and Tony met and laugh at Harely’s mother’s tale of discovering that her son had met Tony Stark by finding their garage suddenly full of tech worth more than their house. Everyone seems comfortable, and Rhodey takes some time to reflect happily. A year can seem like a long time, but to be this far in recovery just a year after the invasion is incredible. He can hardly believe that exactly a year ago, he’d been running out of food in a makeshift camp, thinking his friends and all of his family dead, waiting for death himself.
And now he’s sitting in their kitchen in the rebuilt Tower, celebrating their freedom with the world, and more importantly, with his family. He has Tony back, alive and well and better than ever before, finally nearing the end—Rhodey suspects he’s already there and just doesn’t know it yet—of his emotional recovery. He’s enjoying lunch with a team that he likes working with and is coming to trust, and he knows Tony is too, which could easily have been impossible after the disastrous end the last team met. He and Tony have both grown even closer to Harley and Peter, who are their own little miracles by themselves, in that they both survived the invasion relatively intact and their respective families survived with them.
They’ve lost a lot, and they’ll never forget that. Pepper, Happy, Vision, so many of their other friends, many of their families. Nearly everyone in the world has lost someone. They’ve lost more intangible things, too, like the trust that they used to have in the old Avengers, the naïve belief that most of the world used to have that they were alone and safe in the universe, the idea that a single small group of people, enhanced though they were, were ever actually capable of defending the entire planet from a force that really wanted to take them out.
That last one is the most amazing part of the world’s recovery. That Tony and Rhodey have been able, in fact highly encouraged by the public, to form another superhero team to defend the planet after the last one failed so spectacularly, is astonishing. Rhodey would call it a miracle, but it’s really not. It’s the product of a hell of a lot of hard work. Some of it is luck, some of it is the right circumstances, and a significant part of it is the people’s willingness to trust them again even though they got burned last time. They certainly got a huge boost from Tony killing Thanos and saving the world. But most of it is down to Tony, and Rhodey, and now the rest of the heroes around the world, stepping up and promising to do better.
They’ve been earning the public’s trust back by proving that they will change and being transparent with their plans, their problems, and their solutions. By coming together to work with the UN on the International Defense Acts, by the creation of the Sentinels as a network of separate but cooperative teams and individuals rather than a secretive, exclusive little group that answers to a spy agency, and by Tony’s openness with the public regarding his own decisions as Iron Man and his plans for future planetary defense that reach far beyond himself, they have all shown that they’re aware of their previous failures and willing to work to do better. That’s what the people want to see, and it’s what’s renewed the people’s faith in them.
When lunch is over, the team disperses for a while, promising to either find each other at the parade later or to meet back up at the Tower tonight. Rhodey, Tony, Harley and his family, and Peter and May all stay together, leaving for the last award ceremony Tony’s due to be present at before the parade today. Roberta stays behind to clean up, ushering them all out and insisting that she needs a break from being on her feet anyway.
This ceremony is smaller and slightly less personal than the very first of the day. Tony gets yet another plaque to add to his rapidly growing collection and is thanked profusely for everything he’s done by no less than fifty people by the time he makes his way back to the group. He’s still stopped by those who want to share their stories or even just ask for his autograph or a picture with him, but this time it’s a little easier on him, and a smaller crowd. He makes it back to Rhodey in time for them all to drop the cars back off at the Tower and then walk the short distance to the closest point on the parade route.
It’s not quite a traditional parade, but it is a planned route through Manhattan. There are millions of people joining them today, all walking together through the streets rather than standing by the sides and watching things go by, so it’s impossible to really form one group or move all together. Still, they do somehow keep moving. The crowd shifts and changes like ocean currents, but groups stay together. Everyone is exuberant.
Even though Rhodey lives here, it’s still amazing to see it from this view, on this day, and to reinforce what he was reflecting on earlier, how amazing it is that they’ve come this far in just a year. The skyline of the city isn’t exactly the same as it was before the invasion, but it’s grand and towering once more. Buildings have been rebuilt. Families are back together and recovering. Places that were destroyed have been remade better than before. Every building along the route is decorated for the day, people rejoicing in the progress they’ve made, the resurrection of the city.
The one place the crowds quiet down is the memorial. It’s the same one Rhodey and Tony visited months ago on their day off, when they went out into the city to see the beginnings of its recovery. They haven’t returned since then, and Rhodey is glad to be visiting it again. After so many people had been drawn toward it, it was eventually declared an official memorial site for the invasion and those lost. The ruins of the building that once stood there haven’t been touched.
At first glance, it barely looks like it’s changed from months ago, and Rhodey is surprised about that. There’s been a winter since then, so there’s no way the fields of natural wildflowers should still be there. But as they draw closer, he sees that the actual flowers are gone. In their place, thousands upon thousands of handcrafted replicas have been laid down. Beautiful and delicate glass, painted pottery, metal, ceramics, each of them left in the place where the flowers once lay.
Rhodey feels tears in his eyes once more, looking at this place. He was aware that when the government declared it an official memorial site, they undertook a months-long project to preserve the site and what people had naturally done to it, but he hadn’t understood what that meant at the time. He wasn’t involved, and he’d never looked at the details. Now he understands.
Like the flowers, personal items that people left here that might have worn down over time or with weather have been replaced by more durable replicas. Children’s toys, clothes, ribbons and awards with cloth or wooden parts that might have broken down when exposed to the elements, are all reproduced in glass or ceramic or metal. Each item that was removed and replaced has been reproduced as exactly as possible, Rhodey can tell—a replica of a well-worn stuffed animal is missing one of its arms, a trophy with a new metal base has scuff marks purposely worn into it, the durable replacement of a wedding dress is marked with a small blue stain along one side.
These little details are beautiful, proof that the people who created them took the time to be sure what made the items personal was preserved. They retained the humanity and the intensely personal connections in this memorial while still making sure it will be here as it is for years to come.
There’s no lone girl with a violin this time, and the crowd doesn’t sing together. But Rhodey can feel the connection that they all share when they walk by this place. It’s a reminder of everything they lost, but also of what ties them all together. The crowd is quiet and respectful when they pass by the site, and though the shouts and celebrations and the happy mood return when they’ve moved on, Rhodey still feels that increased connection between them all. He realizes at some point down the road that Tony is holding his hand, has been since they came up on the memorial, and isn’t letting go.
They move through most of the parade route and make it into Central Park about half an hour before five, when the new mayor of New York City is set to make a speech, followed by Tony. The crowd is already more dense than before, with a lot of people having finished the parade route and arrived here before they did. There are screens set up for miles around to show live feeds of what’s going to happen on the stage ahead soon.
The closer they get, the more densely packed the open fields and spaces are. It would be difficult for anyone to move through this, but in a fitting parallel to the day they’re now celebrating, when the newly freed people parted silently for their savior, the crowds seem to melt away from Tony, easily making room for him and his group to make their way toward the stage that’s been set up.
This ceremony is the biggest of the day. There are dozens of cameras already fixed on the stage; what happens here will be broadcasted all around the world. The stage they’ve set up is just yards from where Thanos’s throne had been. The crowds are gathered underneath where the first and largest portal opened and began the invasion, where Tony was resurrected, where Thanos was killed. This is the place their freedom was won.
Rhodey and the others stay back, close to the stage, while Tony climbs up onto it to shake hands with the mayor and talk to the camera crews, getting everything ready for the ceremony. Rhodey can see Tony glance over a few times at the large, covered lump that sits on the exact spot where Thanos had his throne. A statue in Tony’s honor, to be revealed today during the ceremony. Tony would never have asked for it, Rhodey knows, and there’s definitely some trepidation in the way he looks at it now, but it would have been odd, even rude, to refuse it, so Tony had said yes when they’d proposed the idea to him. Neither of them have seen it, and they weren’t shown plans or given ideas, so they have no idea what it looks like.
Time seems to fly by and soon enough, the cameras are coming on, the screens all around coming to life to show the stage where Tony, the mayor, and several other officials are gathered. The hush that falls over the crowd is impressive, considering the number of people crammed into the area.
The mayor is the one to start off. He gives a speech about New York and its long and colorful history, all of the times it’s been knocked down and had to pick itself back up. He talks about the resilience of the people here and all around the country and the world. He mentions the original invasion of New York, and then, of course, moves on to Thanos.
Rhodey listens, though he misses a few things because he’s busy watching Tony. Tony’s sitting off to one side on the stage, listening intently to the speech being given, smiling when appropriate. He looks relaxed, he looks comfortable, and it makes Rhodey relax too. It’s not like Tony’s ever had any problem with public speaking—he’s been trained in it since childhood, after all—but Rhodey knows there’s a part of him that’s still uncomfortable with how much the world seems to be revolving around him today, and the idea that the entire world will be hanging off his every word later, when he speaks.
The police commissioner who gave the award to the Sentinels earlier is here too, and gives his own short speech. Then an architect who was involved in the rebuilding of most of the government offices says a few words. Rhodey knows that she was also the head of the group that built the statue they’re all about to reveal.
They call Tony “a true hero,” “the man who saved the world,” and “an inspiration to every person standing here today.” Tony accepts the praise gracefully, standing and coming forward to shake hands with each of them. The crowd’s voices rise in a cheer when they all turn to look beyond the stage, and the cameras focus in on the covered statue. Ropes are pulled and the cover is yanked off dramatically, making Rhodey laugh even as the crowd screams and cheers.
The statue is gorgeous. Rhodey knows that Tony was worried about what it might look like, but there’s no reason to worry now. It’s Tony, just Tony, standing strong and looking upwards. He’s not in some ridiculous pose, or flying through the air in the armor. His shoulders are pulled back and his head tilted up, watching the sky above him, giving the impression that he’s not only looking up—giving hope to them all—but also looking out for them. Even in stone, Rhodey can see the quiet, reserved strength in his stance.
The details of his face are incredible. They haven’t reproduced his new markings or made any reference to his powers. It’s just Tony, as he was—as he is—watching over them all. The only nod to his superhero persona is the Iron Man helmet sitting at his feet, not drawing attention in his arms or obscuring his features, but simply resting at his feet. This is truly a representation of Tony, not Iron Man, not the wielder of the Infinity Stones. Just a man who stands up again and again, no matter how many times he’s knocked down, to help the world.
Rhodey can see the shock, and then the relief, in Tony’s posture, even though his back is now to Rhodey as he looks at the statue. He also sees the architect, the mayor, and the commissioner looking at Tony keenly, watching for his reaction. The same approval that Rhodey can see in Tony’s posture must show on his face, because all three of the others look relieved and grateful a moment later.
There are a thousand camera flashes, but every detail is incredibly clear as Tony climbs down from the stage to make his way over to the statue. It’s not much larger than life, but it does stand up on a stone base. There’s plenty of room on the flat front of the base, but only three words are inscribed there: Anthony Edward Stark. Just Tony’s name. It doesn’t need anything else.
Tony contemplates the statue for a long moment, and Rhodey watches him carefully, knowing he’s considering something. The cheers of the crowd are still ongoing behind him. Rhodey can see Tony tilt his head in the way that means he’s centering himself, planning some use of his powers. He reaches out a moment later and places a palm on the base of the statue.
It only takes a moment for Rhodey to see what’s happening. The crowd is only a few seconds behind him, first falling quiet and then roaring even louder than before. From the point where Tony is touching the statue, blue lines are spreading out. It reminds Rhodey of the way Tony can now fix minor damage on the suit just by touching it. The lines spread over the plate on the front of the statue, surrounding his engraved name. They settle into branching lines that match the marks on Tony’s skin perfectly.
Rhodey’s heart seizes, watching it, and tears sting his eyes. The crowd cheers, seeing Tony’s use of his powers, liking the acknowledgement of his abilities, but it means so much more than they know. It means that Tony is accepting these powers—forced onto him by Thanos, against his will, powers he never wanted and never would have asked for—as a part of his identity now, as an important enough piece of him to memorialize in stone. And with it, he’s accepting his resurrection, finally letting go of the guilt he’s carried since then; guilt for not saving more people, guilt for getting a second chance at life when so many others didn’t.
Tony takes his hand away, and the applause nearly deafens Rhodey. As Tony turns back and takes the steps back up to the stage, Rhodey, still looking at the statue, notices the other little touch Tony added. The bright blue of his powers—arc reactor blue, it always was—has settled into the eyes of the Iron Man helmet sitting at the stone Tony’s feet, adding life to the representation of Tony’s first great symbolic rebirth. The stone version of Tony himself hasn’t been changed at all, just the helmet and the nameplate.
Tony shakes hands with each of the officials again, leaning in close. Though Rhodey can’t make out what he’s saying over the noise the crowd is making, he can tell that Tony is thanking them, expressing his gratitude for and approval of the statue behind them. When he’s done, he moves forward to the podium, standing out strongly even in the sea of microphones, and a hush once again falls over the crowd.
“One year ago today, the world changed completely. Now, some would argue that the change came before that, on the day that an invader came to this planet with every intention of destroying it. But I disagree. What happened that day, and in the weeks after it, was a tragedy, devastation and disaster that has left a permanent mark on this world, but it wasn’t new to us in any way except the form it took. Mankind knows war. It knows pain, and death, and destruction. It has known these since its infancy and it will know them until its end.
“One of the most basic laws of the universe is that of entropy. Things always want to fall into chaos, and it’s infinitely easier than keeping order. That’s why it requires so much work to create something beautiful, and so little effort to destroy it. It’s why it takes years to build trust and only seconds to break it. It’s why keeping peace needs constant dedication, and yet the tiniest slip can send entire nations into war.
“But what makes humanity so unique, what truly defines us, is that no matter how hard the universe tries to push that chaos on us, we never stop striving for order. We seek peace, and trust, and the beauty of creation in every place we can. And that is why I say that today is the date that the world changed forever. Because when everything is over and the dust has settled, we are not defined by the impact of our falls, but by the way in which we pick ourselves back up.
“On this day, for years to come, we will remember what happened a year ago. We will remember those we’ve lost and we will mourn them, but that won’t be the focus of this day. Instead, we will use this day to reflect on what we’ve lost, to remember it, and to use that to push us forward. In memory of the parts of ourselves that are gone, we will strive not only to move on, but to move forward, to grow and thrive and do better. Because the greatest way to honor the memory of those we lost is to live on, and to live well.
“I hope that for years to come, this day will represent the work that we have put in to the last year. The effort that it has taken us to recover, and the strength we have found in ourselves by doing so. This day is about more than recognizing what we lost. It is about understanding what it takes to keep us going.
“And I hope that it represents something else as well: unity. This day is not for one group, not for one race or one gender or one country. Today is for the entire world, all of humanity. And while the details of the struggles we have faced over the last year may be different, we have all faced them, and worked through them together. Everyone in the world shares a sense of loss, but more importantly, we share the strength that has pulled us through until today, and will keep us going into the future.
“The last year has shown us that we are capable of coming together in ways we never thought possible. It has shown the incredible depths of compassion in the people all across this planet, and the way that we will help each other even in the most difficult circumstances. The universal hardships we have faced and the way we worked through them in spite of sometimes overwhelming difficulties have proven that the barriers between us were only ever a construct. That the love and the life that we share as human beings can overcome anything.
“That is the unity that I hope this day represents. Today, celebrate our recovery, our revival, and the compassion and companionship that it has fostered all around the world. Because in the end, the things that separate us will never be as strong as the things that bring us together. Beneath everything that makes us different, we are all the same. We are all human. And in the end, that is why we are still here today. What kept us alive, what keeps us going, is what will always be the Earth’s greatest gift, and its greatest strength: humanity.”
Tony steps back, and the cheers become deafening once more. Rhodey claps along with them, even shouts out, because why the hell not. Tony deserves it. And even with a hundred cameras and thousands more eyes on him, when he’s done turning back to shake hands one last time with his companions on stage, he heads straight to Rhodey.
The hug they share isn’t lingering, and they can’t hear anything over the noise, but it’s intense, and Rhodey knows it will be all over the internet within an hour. He knows there are cameras that can see the tears in his eyes and he doesn’t care. And when he pulls back and sees the same emotion on Tony’s face, he knows that Tony doesn’t care either.
They’re bombarded a moment later by the rest of their group, all joining together in a group hug that doesn’t work out too well, but it doesn’t matter, they’re all laughing and smiling. The crowd is moving now that the ceremony is over, churning like the sea it is, people moving in every direction, but their little group all manage to link hands and stay together. The people don’t part quite as easily for them this time, all distracted by their own business, but it only takes bumping into Tony once for people to rush to make room for his group to move along.
They’re halfway back to the Tower before the noise dies down enough for them to talk as a group without having to shout. Everyone is laughing, joking, talking over each other. Tony once again hasn’t let go of Rhodey’s hand and doesn’t seem inclined to. The boys start an argument over whether or not they each deserve their own statues, with Harley’s sister piping in that she deserves one for putting up with him. May moves over next to Tony to complement his statue and his speech, which, though he responds with a quip along the lines of “of course it was amazing, I wrote it,” Rhodey sees his eyes flick away in what he’s sure is mild embarrassment.
Stephen catches up with them a block before the Tower, also passing on his complements on Tony’s speech. Unlike May, he makes a snarky comment about the statue, which Tony dodges with ease, accusing Stephen of being jealous that he doesn’t have one of his own. That starts a conversation about lasting magical influences on inanimate objects that Rhodey can barely follow, but enjoys nonetheless.
When they arrive back at their floor, it’s to find the rest of the New York Sentinels and a few others from the US waiting for them. Everyone exchanges enthusiastic greetings, talking back and forth and over each other about all of the various ceremonies and parades, Tony’s speech and the statue, and some of the projects they’ve been jointly working on.
The conversations barely pause for dinner, although Rhodey’s mother sternly makes them all shut up and eat for at least five minutes, refusing to let anyone say anything that doesn’t directly relate to the food until they’ve all at least gotten partway through the meal. Peter hauls in another table from downstairs so that everyone can fit around it, and they all agree when it’s over that they need to meet up and do this every once in a while.
Most of the others leave after dinner, going back to their own homes and families. Stephen stays, along with the boys and their families. Roberta stays up for a while, trying in vain to control the hyperactive teenagers and mother Tony and Rhodey both at the same time. Eventually, she starts some kind of card game with Stephen—Stephen later insists that she must be a magic user, that or she’s the sneakiest cheater he’s ever seen—and then turns in for the night.
Peter gets into a video game battle with Harley and his sister, while May and Rhodey try to figure out how to fit all of the leftover food into the fridge. Harley’s mother disappears into one of the bathrooms for over an hour, and just as they’re starting to worry whether she’s sick, she comes out with hands scrubbed pink and a sparkle in her eyes and asks whether she can steal some of the scented soaps in the guest bathrooms and take them home with her. Tony and Stephen spend a while in the corner of the living room, sitting on the floor and glowing, doing god knows what. Their concentration is broken when Harley’s sister wins their game and promptly screams her victory to the entire room.
After that, they all end up gathered for movies. It’s nearing midnight and though May warns that the three kids aren’t going to last, they shout her down and insist that everyone joins them for a marathon. Predictably, all of them are asleep before the end of the first movie. May shakes her head fondly, but lets them sleep. They wake a few times when the adults get up to retrieve drinks or more popcorn or go to the bathroom, but soon enough they’re nodding off again.
Rhodey gets up to go to the bathroom sometime near the end of the third movie and stops at the entrance to the room when he gets back. Everyone is asleep on one of the huge couches, all sprawled over each other. Harley and Peter are leaning into each other, Harley’s sister is asleep on her mom’s lap. May has her head on a pillow and her feet in Stephen’s lap, who’s leaned back, mouth open, arms resting over the back of the couch. There are bowls of popcorn and snacks scattered on and around the couch, plus several phones and tablets that have all gone dark as their owners nodded off.
The only person missing is Tony. Unerringly, like an instinct at this point, Rhodey turns to find him and spots a familiar soft glow through the glass doors leading outside.
Rhodey steps out onto the balcony, breathing in the cool summer night air with a smile. Tony turns to face him, the soft, private smile that’s reserved just for Rhodey gracing his features. There are still people celebrating in the streets below them, there will be long into the early hours of the morning, but up here, hundreds of feet above them, the sounds are muted.
New York City has long since rebuilt itself to the point that it’s impossible to see stars in the night sky. Rhodey never thought light pollution would be a sign of something good, but he supposes in this case, it is. Still, it would be nice to see something other than just the moon and the orange glow of the city when he looks up, but he doesn’t need that. He has Tony here, a galaxy all on his own.
“Everyone’s asleep,” Rhodey says, and Tony’s smile widens.
“I know.”
Rhodey moves closer, joining Tony at the railing. They both look out on the city skyline, the colored lights that shine for miles, down into the streets where people can still be seen as pinpricks of light, holding glowsticks and lit phones and flashlights. Rhodey’s never exactly loved living in crowded cities, but there’s a certain beauty to this that he can appreciate.
He moves a little closer to Tony, still looking down at the people in the streets, waiting. He doesn’t know what he’s waiting for, exactly, but that innate sense of his is telling him that Tony has something to say. Sure enough, a few moments later, Tony murmurs, “I found it.”
“Found what?” Rhodey turns to lean one elbow on the railing, facing Tony. Tony mirrors him, moving his gaze from the city below them to Rhodey’s face. He turns his head for a second, looking into the living room behind them where everyone is asleep, and then back to Rhodey.
Tony smiles. His eyes shine all the brighter in the low light. “Happiness. I found it; I’m finally sure. I’m happy.”
Rhodey smiles back, filled with relief and love and happiness of his own. He’s known it for weeks if not longer. It’s been obvious in the way Tony carries himself, the way he interacts with everyone around him, everything he does. Tony found happiness a while ago. But the recovery of his emotions could never be complete until he recognized it too, so this last step is, if anything, the most important.
Rhodey’s beyond grateful that Tony finally took this last step, that he finally feels sure that he’s happy. He’s so glad that he’s been able to be there for Tony through this, that he helped in the bad times and supported him in the good ones. This has been an important recovery for him as much as for Tony, and they have been each other’s biggest support through all of it.
Rhodey leans in to wrap Tony in another tight hug. All of the emotions of the last year pass between them while they cling to each other, and below them, the city celebrates. When they finally pull back, they join hands once more and head back inside, to their family, and to the rest of their lives.