If They Knew All About You

Civil Servant

It had been weeks in the making. Meetings and conference calls had dominated his life all throughout September and well into October. Outside, the building the autumn winds were sweeping through the city.

They'd had plans for autumn. They had wanted to take Pete to Boston, then get out of the city into the countryside for some fresh air, some sense of freedom, maybe watch the damn leaves turn red and breathe a little, far away from all the craziness in New York.

For a few weeks, life had gotten a little better. Pete was sleeping through the night more often than he wasn't. His friend Ned was at the Compound at least twice a week, which had helped the mood around the house immensely. Things with the Rogues had been coming together quite well, the - figurative - noose around Clarke's neck was growing tighter and tighter.

But none of that had happened on a whim. It had required constant attention and meddling, too much to get away even for a weekend. Too much even for Pepper to take the trip to SI headquarters in LA that she kept pushing off.

Tony's eyes weren't even on the document pulled up on his tablet. They were in the upper right corner watching the minutes tick by. All this was just a formality but he had to sit through it nonetheless. They had all read through this draft more than once.

The draft. It wasn't a draft so much anymore. This could all end today. The pardon. It was why he had to be there, sitting through hours of the lawyers reading this out loud to the commission. Everything was settled.

Rogers would get the deal he had wanted. Atonement, yes, but a return to active duty within the Avengers, though no longer under his command.

"Going forward, the leadership of the Avengers Initiative will be transferred to Colonel James Rupert Rhodes, who will retain his role as an officer of United States Air Force. His leadership however will not bring the Avengers Initiative under the United Air Force authority. Both entities will remain independent while Colonel Rhodes will serve as liaison between the Initiative and the special government commission. To reflect Colonel Rhodes' authority and responsibility in this position, the Air Force has agreed to elevate his rank to Lieutenant General of the United States Air Force."

The lawyer looked up from the document in his hands. "Colonel Rhodes, do you agree to these terms."

Rhodey stood at the head of the table in full uniform. "I do."

Their eyes met and Rhodey arched an eyebrow at him. It was the closest to a wink that Tony would get from him. It was a 'cheer up' from his best friend.

Lieutenant General.

Tony's lips twitched. It was hard not to cringe at it. It had been one of the concessions he had fought the hardest to accept. If Rhodey was gonna get stuck with the responsibility for this shit show, he should get a title that matched it. General was the least they could have offered. A five-star rank. Fair would have been to give him his own rank. Five stars and a couple of planets on top of it. A brand new one that nobody else had and with twice the salary they were giving him now.

But Rhodey hadn't cared. He had smiled at Tony with the kindness of a true friend. "The most important part is that this gives us the power we wanted. More freedom than I think they even realized."

That part was true and Tony's head had bobbed up and down a few times when Rhodey had squeezed his shoulder.

"It's how we'll keep the kid safe."

Rhodey's pen scratched over the paper as he left his signature on the bottom of the document. There would be an official ceremony. Public. For everyone to see. They wouldn't get away with just pinning this insignia on him in a backroom somewhere. Tony wouldn't allow that. It was the least they could do.