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The exercises were too easy, Rhodey had told him, even as the sweat dripped into his eyes and down his chest as he struggled to cross the short distance from one side of the platform to the other, his hands gripping the parallel bars tightly. Tony had just snorted and told him that when he could walk the whole six feet without running out of breath, they’d talk again. And then he’d upgraded the braces. For the third time.
But the truth was, it wasn’t easy. In fact, it was the hardest thing Rhodey had ever done. Not the exercises, or even the constant barrage of tests and physical therapy appointments and checkups and psychiatrists. No, all of that was tolerable - would be tolerable - but the part Rhodey couldn’t stand was his own feelings of inadequacy. He was a Colonel in the Air Force. He was War Machine. He was an Avenger. And right now? Right now, he was none of that.
Rhodey had seen the guys at the VA hospital, men and women who were missing limbs or had lost their sight, who had lost the use of more than just their legs, who had physical scars from shrapnel and emotional scars from what they’d seen and been through. And he knew that he was lucky. Tony had pulled out all the stops, had stripped the Iron Man armor down to its most basic functions, had turned the bones of it into a new set of legs for Rhodey. He’d walk again. Was, in fact, already walking.
But his head and his heart didn’t always agree. So he kept up his training regimen, he accepted an honorable discharge from the Air Force, he went to all of his appointments, he spent time with Tony and the new team he was putting together. He even congratulated his best friend when Tony finally screwed up the courage to ask Pepper to marry him.
But when he wasn’t doing any of that? When he’d exhausted his body and his mind? He took the War Machine armor out and went flying. He rarely had a destination in mind. He’d pick a direction at random and just fly until he found a mountain or an ocean, something that seemed like it might be a beginning. Or an end.
There, he’d leave the War Machine armor in sentinel mode, and he’d just...walk. As far as he could, with the braces, until he had no energy left. And then, he’d walk some more. Just to prove to himself that he could. He’d tried, once, to remove the rigging around his spine and legs. That had not ended well, and he’d had to come to terms with the fact that they’d be a permanent part of his life now. Whether he wanted them or not.
But as much as he’d accused Tony of the same, Rhodey was stubborn. He couldn’t walk without assistance? Fine. He couldn’t pass the Air Force BMT Physical Fitness Test anymore? Okay. He was an Avenger. He had a duty to the whole world now, not just to the United States military. And more than that, he had a new duty to fulfill, one that he’d never expected.
“Hey, Platypus,” Tony called, waltzing into the gym with Morgan in his arms. Rhodey grunted, focusing on keeping his feet in the proper position as he performed lunges, feeling the braces curve gracefully with him. Tony had tweaked the rigging so much that it didn’t leave hotspots, or feel awkward. It was maybe four pounds of extra weight, which Rhodey didn’t even notice anymore.
“What is it, Tony?” Rhodey asked, when it appeared obvious that Tony had no intention of leaving.
Tony grinned widely, his eyes sparkling. “Well, since you asked,” he started, moving towards Rhodey with the baby in his arms. Rhodey straightened up, his eyes narrowing. “Pepper and I sort of have a date, and Peter was supposed to come watch her, but he’s apparently got something going on tonight and said he couldn’t come, and we have to leave, like, now, or we’ll be late, and you know how much Pepper hates it when I’m late. So we need a babysitter.” He looked up at Rhodey expectantly.
“I’m kind of busy, too,” Rhodey pointed out. He’d started his exercise routine not ten minutes ago, and he wasn’t particularly willing to give it up. Keeping a schedule kept him from having too many of the bad days, the ones where he just wanted to run and not return.
Tony grinned, shoving Morgan at him. Rhodey took her, more from instinct than anything. He blinked down at her, and she blinked sleepily back up at him. “What? You don’t think you can do your squats holding a baby?” Tony asked.
Rhodey narrowed his eyes at his best friend. “If I drop her, Pepper will kill us both,” he pointed out.
Tony shrugged. “Then don’t drop her,” he suggested wryly.
Rhodey rolled his eyes, then looked at Morgan contemplatively for a moment. She was grinning up at him now, her tiny hands waving in the air as she squirmed. Adjusting his hold, Rhodey took a step forward, keeping his front foot flat on the floor and bending at the knees, his back leg nearly touching the floor in a classic lunge pose. He wobbled for a moment, but Morgan was still in his arms, so he just pulled her closer instead of flinging his arms out for balance.
“See? Nothing to it,” Tony told him when he straightened back up. Rhodey glared at him, and Tony grinned back unrepentantly.
“Tony, that had better not be you encouraging Rhodey to use our child as a prop,” Pepper said, striding into the gym.
“Of course not, Pepper! Light of my life, mother of my child, beacon of hope,” Tony said, taking his wife into his arms. Pepper smiled down at him. “Rhodey volunteered to babysit Morgan while we’re gone,” he said.
Pepper raised one eyebrow, then looked at Rhodey for confirmation. Rhodey sighed. “Yeah, I got her,” he said at last. Morgan cooed up at him, blowing bubbles, and Rhodey smiled. “Yes, you’re adorable,” he whispered to her. “You get that from your mom.”
“Hey!” Tony protested, but Pepper shushed him with a smile.
“If you’re sure?” she asked, and Rhodey finally got a good look at her. Her hair was as perfectly styled as always, and her outfit was pristine, but there was a tightness around her mouth, an exhaustion hovering around her eyes. She needed this break as much as Tony did.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure,” Rhodey reassured her. He smiled. “You go on. Enjoy your date. I’ll keep an eye on the little one.” He gave Morgan his finger, which she grabbed and promptly stuck in her mouth. Rhodey chuckled.
As soon as Tony and Pepper were gone, Rhodey looked down at the tiny child in his arms. He took a deep breath, feeling something release in his chest. “You ready to do this?” he asked Morgan. She babbled, grinning widely around his finger still in her mouth. “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” he told her, shifting his hold and dropping into another lunge. Morgan squealed at the movement, making happy noises, and Rhodey found himself counting out loud, talking to her.
Morgan’s presence kept the exercises from getting tedious, and kept Rhodey aware of where she was at all times. It also forced him to get creative. Who would have thought that he’d been doing pull-ups with Morgan strapped in a sling on his back, laughing at the up-down motion and occasionally grabbing Rhodey’s ear? Or that he’d be doing pushups with Morgan cooing under him on a warm, soft blanket, dropping gentle kisses on her forehead when he lowered himself towards the floor, careful not to squash her.
When Tony and Pepper walked into the Compound a few hours later, Friday guided them to the gym, where they found Rhodey dozing on a floor mat, Morgan asleep on his chest. Tony kissed Pepper. “Go on,” he murmured. “I’ve got this.”
Once Pepper was gone, Tony approached his daughter and his best friend. “Hey, buddy,” he murmured, crouching down next to Rhodey. The other man opened his eyes, then yawned.
“Hey yourself,” he whispered back, hands automatically shifting to cradle Morgan more firmly. He sighed. “I….might need some help,” he admitted. “Getting down is a lot easier than getting up.”
Tony smiled, lifting Morgan and resettling her on his hip with minimal grumbling on her part, then stretched his other hand down. Rhodey grabbed it, waiting until Tony braced his feet before hauling himself upright, wincing as he got his legs under him, the movement awkward when he couldn’t feel his legs. He stumbled into Tony, only barely missing squashing Morgan. He grimaced. “Sorry ‘bout that,” he muttered.
Tony smiled sympathetically. “It’s fine. You good?” he asked.
Rhodey nodded, stretching. “Yeah, I’m good,” he said, and was only a little surprised to find that he meant it.
Tony’s grin widened. “Good! Because, you know, I was thinking that maybe you’d want to take over babysitting duties from now on.” Rhodey turned to give him an unimpressed look, but Tony was looking down at Morgan. Rhodey sighed. It wasn’t that he minded, really. Morgan was a good baby, generally happy to be held and not too fussy. But he didn’t know that he wanted a baby on his back every time he did his exercises. This wasn’t a fruit bowls commercial.
Tony was looking at him, concern in those brown eyes. “Seriously, though. I’m sorry if I dropped her in your lap on a bad day.”
Rhodey paused, part of him surprised that Tony had noticed that he’d been having a bad day. And then he was surprised to realize that actually, today hadn’t been that bad, after all. Having to focus on Morgan so much had kept him from getting frustrated when his legs didn’t do what he wanted them to do. He’d been forced to get creative, which had made things more difficult, but being able to think that they were more difficult because of Morgan rather than his own limitations was somewhat liberating.
“Nah, it’s fine,” he said. “Really.” He bumped Tony’s shoulder lightly. “I’ll take my payment in a shower upgrade.” Not that his tub was inadequate by any means, but he knew Tony had been wanting to add more features to it so he could climb in and out without his braces more easily, anyhow. And Rhodey couldn't say he'd mind having a top-of-the-line shower at his disposal.
Tony beamed at him, and Rhodey smiled back.
Yeah, today had been a good day.