Hello there, quick note before you continue. Though I enjoy writing the characters as close to the actual thing as I possibly can, I am fallible and as such, I'd like you to take heed of this warning. These characters might be a bit OOC, some of it intentional, some of it lack of knowledge of the character. I also believe that experiences shape our future, so some of these characters might be much different in the beginning of this story than at the end.

It was a comfort to see that Bruce's number was still the same. He called it, after two hours of deliberation. He was still under the assumption that this was just a dream—a horrible nightmare that would end soon. He'd looked through his entire house though, not a trace of Steve, not a single morsel of evidence to show that another human being had ever lived inside the apartment.

His hands shook with the thought of it, how… how could this be?

"Tony?"

"Bruce, oh thank god you answered!" Tony said, almost crying with relief. He nearly fainted with just how much his emotions were getting away from him.

"Yeah, hey… are you okay? You haven't called me in almost a year so uh, this is kind of out of the blue here." Bruce said a bit confused at the sudden call.

"I… I could have sworn I called you ye-yesterday?" Tony said not quite sure how to phrase it. Almost a year? Well it was a good thing the man hadn't changed his phone number during that time.

"It wasn't me, hey… I'm kinda' busy right now, Clint and I were in the middle of doing something so…" Bruce said, trying to get out of the awkward conversation as kindly as he could.

"Oh thank god, you're still with Clint." Tony sighed, quite relieved to find that most everything had stayed the same, in whatever reality or fantasy this was.

"Yes… hey are you sure you're alright? No one died or anything right?" Bruce asked, he was sure he would have heard about it if anything major had happened.

"No, no, I mean, at least I hope not… Hey, do you remember, by any chance, a Steve Rogers?" Tony asked trying to poke at this Bruce's memories to see if they revealed anything.

"You mean the guy you left seven years ago? Yeah, I remember him. But I'm pretty sure you know him better than I do, seeing as he works for you and everything—or at least did at the time." Bruce said, shaking his head.

"Right, right, yeah, just making sure. Um, well I'll see you around or I guess I'll talk to you later. Sorry to bother you." Tony apologized, feeling the awkwardness grow as time stretched.

"Yeah, uh, talk to you later." Bruce hung-up then.

"Oh Christ, what have I done?" Tony lamented as he got ready for work that day. It was Monday again, at least the days had remained constant in this fucked-up world he'd dug himself into.

It had taken some time to muster the courage (two weeks, actually) and venture forth in finding Steve. Tony had to make sure that this hadn't been all a dream, that if he pinched himself enough times he would wake—but no, if pain was the answer then he probably wasn't supplying enough of it.

That Monday had him in a tizzy, as spent the whole morning trying to figure out the lay-out of his own company. There were so many floors and so many departments that he'd never truly taken the time to see them through. He remembered the tour they had gone on years ago, when they expanded and remodeled, but he couldn't have been bothered then to memorize every ounce of the information the tour had provided; he kinda' wishes he had now.

He, finally, found the floor he was looking for: Graphic Design. Tony didn't even know there was a floor for that!

Some of the people recognized him as he stepped inside room. Most of them looked confused others intrigued. Tony tried to keep his cool as he approached the front desk, he took a deep breath to try and calm his racing heart; it didn't quite help as much as he'd liked it too.

He looked at the receptionist who recognized him instantly, if the look of shock on her face was any indication.

"Mr. Stark, what may we owe you the pleasure?" She asked, standing up as if he were royalty.

"Please, sit down, there's no need for that." Tony said, flattered, but otherwise a bit annoyed. He was only human for crying out-loud. (An extremely intelligent and handsome human being, but still.)

"Sorry, sorry, what is it that you would like Mr. Stark?" The receptionist said, her voice wavering a bit.

"Listen, I'm looking for a Steve Rogers?" Tony asked, his throat clogging up a bit at the mention of his husband's… he wasn't his husband anymore was he? He fingered the empty space on his ring finger, the first thing he had noticed was missing after his initial freak-out that first morning.

"Oh, what for? Do you have an appointment?" She asked, almost as a reflex.

"Do I have to?" Tony asked confused, I mean, this was his company after-all.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, again. It's just a force of habit, he's right through those large double doors at the end of the hallway, should I tell him you're coming?" She asked, ready to press a button on her earpiece on his say-so.

"No, no. I'll just go in." Tony said, his entire frame shaking as he left the area and made it down the hall.

This was it, the moment he had been looking forward to since he fell through the fucking rabbit-hole that was this nightmare.

Tony saw him before he entered the room, he saw the blonde as if he had seen him yesterday (had it already been two weeks?). Steve was smiling as he worked, and boy was he working. There were probably a dozen people around him showing designs or concepts. Many of them were quite young and Tony was proud to see that they were rather a diverse group of people. There was another figure there that he recognized, he couldn't quite place his name, but he was as old as Steve; he knew that much.

Tony took another deep breath and pulled the double doors open.

"Now this is what I like to see! All of you working together, it's beautiful!" Tony exclaimed extravagantly, showing off his best smile. The room went quiet instantly and then erupted in surprised cheering and laughter. But Tony wasn't really paying attention to the people surrounding him and asking him what he was doing here, no, he was too focused on that one singular figure close to the back (and his perpetual shadow). He felt it then, felt the amount of time that actually transpired; seven years was a long fucking time.

"What am I doing here? Can't your boss drop by for a surprise evaluation?" Tony asked the room.

"Of course you may, Mr. Stark." Steve said, the first he'd spoken since he saw Tony enter the room.

Steve was overcome by a certain emotion then, one that he couldn't quite place, he felt as if something was very wrong about this ordeal.

"Please, call me Tony." The billionaire said.

That pushed some of Steve's limits and the blonde left the room then. Tony thought of following suit but there were too many eyes on him.

"What's his problem?" He asked instead, pretending as if nothing was wrong, as if he didn't comprehend that the moment Steve looked at him he realized he'd done something incredibly stupid; so irreparable, in-fact, that the mere task of fixing it seemed impossible now.

Tony looked a little to the right when he noticed Steve's shadow looking at him, and not quite trying to hide it either.

"And you are?" Tony asked in that certain way he did when he wasn't quite interested to find out the answer but intrigued enough to ask.

"James Barnes. I don't work for you, I was just following my husband to work today." James said. That's when Tony remembered… Bucky. He had to ask, he had to make sure that Barnes wasn't talking about Steve when he said husband, please, for the love of god don't let it be. Tony's heart couldn't take any more if that was the case.

"Where's your husband?" Tony asked, feigning ignorance.

"I believe he just walked out the door, so if you'll excuse me." Barnes said in a way that let Tony know Barnes knew exactly what Tony had been to Steve. He exited the room there, looking for Steve.

"Mr. Stark, are you okay?" One of the kids asked him as he began to sway.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Um, you guys are doing excellent work, keep it up and don't make me come in here to find you slacking." Tony said and left the work room promptly.

ooOOoo

"Did you know?" Bucky asked Steve as he approached him. The blonde had made his way upstairs and to the roof of the building by the time Bucky found him.

"Of course I didn't know, Bucky, whatever you're thinking stop right there." Steve warned the brunette.

"See, I just find it strange that after seven years he just shows up out of the blue, unexpected." Bucky said, looking up at Steve.

"And you don't think I do? I haven't thought about that man in years! He just showed up Buck, I had nothing to do with it." Steve said, trying to get his husband to understand.

"Promise?" Bucky asked in that special way of his when he wanted Steve to indulge him.

"I promise." Steve said, cupping Bucky's face and placing a simple kiss on his lips, now wasn't the time for them to engage in publicly lewd behavior.

"Let's just get back to work, we'll deal with him when we get there." Steve sighed, holding out his hand for Bucky to hold it. He shook his head slightly from the creeping ghost that was Tony's gaze, it was the first time he'd seen him in a long time, but he'd never stopped hearing about him. He still wasn't quite sure why he'd never left the company when they'd broken it off. He could say it was because of the good pay and convenience but he'd be lying to himself. He really didn't know though, but he wasn't about to find out.

Thankfully for Steve, Tony hadn't been there when they returned and he could continue his work in peace, if he focused hard enough he could even forget Tony's look of shock and sadness when he'd entered the room, he could forget the way his eyes held an emotion he could only classify in the same category as pain. He wondered what had motivated Tony to come back into his life after so long. Tony had made it abundantly clear when he left that he didn't want anything else to do with Steve, so why return now?

"Steve, you're still thinking about it… about him." Bucky said as he placed one of his hands on top of Steve's to still his shaking. He hadn't even… Jesus, where was his mind right now?

"No, I'm not, it's just-

"Don't lie to me Rogers, I know that look. I spent almost four years trying to get rid of it and just by him waltzing in here it's returned. Tell me what's on your mind." Bucky said, waiting patiently for Steve to reply. Why did that bastard Stark have to come in and ruin such a perfect picture?

"It's just, I wanna know his motivation you know, why did he suddenly appear again? I swear to you Buck that I've heard neither heads nor tails about him. I couldn't have given him any sort of reason to see me, so why?" Steve asked himself more than anything.

"Maybe that's just the way he is, a volatile catalyst that appears out of nowhere; like a natural disaster." Bucky offered, with a bit of malice coating his voice.

In the years following the whole 'Tony left me' debacle, he'd worked insanely hard to get Steve to a better place both mentally and physically. And the proof of his work was right here—they'd been happily married for four years (coming July) and had almost everything going for them. They both had steady jobs that payed incredibly well, they spent their free time either visiting places like the Grand Canyon last fall or staying at home and reading. They'd even been thinking that maybe it was time to bring it all full circle and adopt a child.

He always knew, though, that he could never replace Tony Stark. He'd tried though, tried with every ounce of his being to be Steve's everything. It had always seemed worth it when the blonde kissed him or brought him unexpected gifts, (the best part was when Steve told him he loved him). Yet he knew, deep down in the corners of his mind where even he wouldn't admit it, that that was not enough. If he could go back in time and change history, he would—he'd sell his soul just to have a chance.

Bucky pushed his lips close to Steve's and kissed him then, with the desperation of dying man. He didn't know why, but for some reason today felt like the beginning of something he wasn't quite keen on.

"What was that for?" Steve asked with a small smile on his lips, it'd been a while since Bucky took initiative, he kinda' liked it. It burned a bright fire in the pit of his stomach.

"Me, focus on me." Bucky ordered, kissing Steve again. The brunette was happy to find that Steve was happy to oblige, kissing him deeper still until they were both out of breath.

"I adore you, you know that?" Steve said chasing after Bucky's lips, when the brunette pulled back.

"Adore? Don't you mean love?" Bucky asked, some of his insecurities resurfacing.

"That too, I love you so much Buck." Steve said not even acknowledging his slip-up. Bucky tried to keep that in mind, if Steve hadn't noticed then he most likely didn't do it on purpose. Then why did it feel as if everything was slowly starting to crumble?

He had to stop this train of thought before it killed him.

"I'm heading home now, I expect to see you there soon." Bucky said, putting some faith in his husband. This whole Stark situation really had him shaken up. He needed to get out of this funk, he knew Steve wouldn't betray his trust, he wasn't that type of person.

"Of course. I may be a little later though, these are brand new plans and they need a thorough look-over, I trust my kids, but they're still quite new to this, so." Steve said looking down at the papers in his hands, the designs looked good, but he could see where there could be improvements overall.

"Okay. I'll see you when I see you then." Bucky said, placing one last kiss on Steve's cheek before leaving the room.

Steve waited until he was absolutely sure Bucky was gone to finally breakdown in peace. Seven years, seven pain-filled years. He'd managed to slowly get over it, Tony had been his first after-all; he didn't think many people truly got over their first love. Bucky had helped so much, and sacrificed himself to make sure that Steve was cared for, looked after.

The change happened slowly, slow like the lava flow down a volcano, but he was able to finally stop thinking of Tony 24/7. He'd never really known how much Bucky had cared for him until that one night…

"You can pretend I'm him if you'd like."

Steve shook his head, no, he'd managed to get over Tony, at least that's what he kept telling himself, fake it 'til you make it right—so why these thoughts now?

But just like that, with one look... seven years of rebuilding his broken heart went to shit. It was no wonder Bucky was so worried for him. He knew the brunette was placing a lot of trust in him not to fuck this up, but he felt as if that may not have been the best move on Bucky's part.

"Steve." For a second there Steve thought he'd imagined it, imagined that soft, pleading voice, imagined the way it used to laugh his name, or moan his name depending on the hour and the mood.

"What are you doing here Mr. Stark, I thought you'd be home by now. You don't seem like the type to stay back and work late." Steve said, not looking up to meet Tony's eyes; he'd break further if he did.

"Don't be like that, so formal. Call me Tony." Tony almost begged. He noticed how Steve actively avoided looking in his direction, it cut him deep.

"That won't be happening anytime soon, Mr. Stark." Steve said, moving the papers around and pretending to look at them. He hated how much Tony's mere presence affected him.

"Steve, please look at me." I need to know what happened. But Tony did beg this time; employing a voice he seldom used on his own Steve, which worked charms when he wanted it to.

It seemed to work on this Steve as well. The blonde was unable to keep his eyes on the same drafts for much longer, he looked up slowly in Tony's direction—narrowly avoiding eye contact.

"There, was that so hard?" Tony asked, trying his hardest not to break under the guise he was putting on. It was so hard not to take Steve's shoulders into his hands and shake him out of this nightmare of a situation. Don't you remember, don't you remember me?

Steve rolled his eyes and resumed his nervous paper shuffling. "What are you doing here?" Steve asked again, this time a bit calmer. Tony was just a person, not the superhuman he'd thought him to be once.

"I can't come over to say hi?" Tony asked trying his hardest to feign innocence, but failing miserably.

"Seven years Stark, seven years I haven't heard a peep from you and suddenly you waltz into my office, interrupt my work and expect me to just think that a 'hi' is enough?" Steve exclaimed making Tony flinch in his chair.

"Er, technically it's my office." Tony reminded kindly.

Steve shook his head and chuckled dryly. "Yeah, I suppose it is." Steve finally put the papers down and gave Tony his undivided attention. "What do you want?" Steve asked, almost in a whisper—he really wanted to know why Tony had shown up after almost a decade of radio silence.

"To talk… I need to know, what happened between us?" Tony asked, it was probably not the best thing to do, but it was his only option. Only two people knew of what happened (three if you counted Barnes) and Tony was not one of them.

"What happened? Are you serious, is your memory that faulty that you can't even remember that?!" Steve cried almost in a shout, he balled his fists and closed his eyes, rubbing a hand down his face to calm the sudden urge to choke Tony.

"Please, I'm sorry… I." Tony couldn't finish, is this what he wanted? Did he really save Steve from suffering by choosing this path?

"You're doing well for yourself, I see you got married." Tony said after a little bit of thought.

"Yeah, and I should probably be talking to him instead of you." Steve said, reminding himself of that fact.

"I'm not stopping you, if you have somewhere to go, go." Tony said, giving Steve permission to leave, this wasn't his Steve, not anymore anyways he shouldn't keep him here if he had somewhere to be. Even if it hurt to watch him go.

"Do you think it's that easy? For me to just leave, I haven't seen you in so long…" Steve admitted this piece of weakness.

"I'm sorry, I must have really fucked up your morning then." Tony said, almost unapologetically. He couldn't get over the fact that Steve still felt for him, even if just slightly; this he could work with.

"Tony, please just go back where you came from. We were doing fine, I was doing fine without you. If you go now, it'll be easier to forget any of this ever happened." Steve said, almost pleading with the billionaire to leave him be.

"You… you said my name." Tony replied sadly. The brunette looked down into his hands and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, for everything I did, I know I hurt you and that should have never happened. I don't do this apologizing thing very often, and I don't expect you to take it, but I hope that it will calm any storms that I may have started since my arrival into your space today. I'll leave now, but if you ever need me-

"I won't." Steve was quick to say.

"Of course." Tony said the tips of his lips coming up in a slight grimace. "Well, I'll just go then. Good luck with the design, you should amalgamate the last three and get rid of the first two." Tony said as an afterthought. The brunette left the room before Steve could say anything.

The blonde looked at the designs, finally paying them attention and noticed that Tony was quite right.

Steve wasn't quite sure how he felt about that.

A/N: Well, you've done it now Tony. How are you gonna fix this?