Slight Warning for the beginning of the chapter, there is some obligatory Stucky (shivers) so you have been forewarned. Skip ahead to the first line if you are so inclined.

Steve made it home an hour later, after he'd processed all the designs, and begrudgingly accepted Tony's advice.

"Steve?" Bucky called from their bedroom, he was probably watching TV or reading one of his history books.

"Yeah, it's me." Steve said, taking his shoes off by the door. His husband walked out into the living area to meet Steve.

"Uff, you look like shit. How bad were the designs?" Bucky asked, he was wearing nothing but a large shirt and some very short shorts that didn't leave much to the imagination. Steve ogled him openly, knowing that Bucky loved it when he paid close attention to him.

"No, they weren't bad, it's just that I couldn't get the machine to work and you know how I am with technology, all the young kids went home already so I had to fend for myself." Steve said, it wasn't a blatant lie, the machine had given him some trouble, it just wasn't the reason he looked so damn bad.

"Well, I think you need to relax a bit." Bucky whispered into Steve's ear.

"Oh yeah, what did you have in mind?" Steve asked letting the brunette lead him towards the bedroom.

It didn't take long for the clothes to start flying off. On any regular day, Bucky would have taken his time with Steve, toyed with him a little and teased him until he finally gave in, but this wasn't one of those nights and this hadn't been a regular day.

Steve looked up into Bucky's blue-green eyes, as the smaller man rode him into kingdom-come. For a brief second another brunette was sat on top of him riding him at different intervals. A flash of panic crossed Steve's face and he quickly turned their positions so he was back on top. He buried his head in the crook of Bucky's neck, biting the area hard enough to elicit a slight moan of discomfort from the other man.

Tony had always liked it a little rougher—Stop! Don't do that, he's not Tony!

"Steve, shit, what's gotten into you?" Bucky asked, out of breath; Steve wasn't normally this rough in bed, very rarely had he shown such strong signs of aggression, it kinda' reminded him of the time-

But he couldn't think much more as he was turned around and penetrated, this time he had to hang on for dear life on the bed frame as he was pushed ever-so-roughly into it.

"Hey, honey, I can't hold on much longer!" Bucky tried to warn Steve, to see if he could break through his husband's reverie.

And Bucky was right, both of them climaxed at around the same time out of breath and a bit unexpectedly.

Sex hadn't been that intense in a long time, and Bucky had an idea who was at fault for the sudden change.

"Is there something you want to tell me, Steve?" Bucky asked a couple of minutes later when they'd calmed down enough to lay back on the bed and keep their breathing at a regular pace.

"No, why?" Steve asked, looking up into the ceiling.

"You were a little rougher than usual is all; I mean, I don't mind, but a little warning would have been nice." Bucky said, normally after something like this they would cuddle, but they were just lying there, looking up at the ceiling like it held the answers to their fucking dilemma.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize…" Steve was so lost, so, so lost; how could years of progress be undone in one instant?

"It's alright, we'll talk in the morning." Bucky said, turning his back to Steve. He wondered what his husband would do, would he try to comfort him or would he just turn away and dismiss him.

He didn't realize how cold the night could be when there was nothing but a back touching yours.

Tony went searching downtown for the spot he'd met Chronos; he had to fix this mess of a reality once and for all—he'd sell his soul if he had to.

The streets all seemed the blend together as he walked them, but he had memorized the address, and he knew he was approaching the building soon enough. He walked up the steps, very familiar, but nothing otherworldly like he'd felt the first time he'd stepped inside, and the sign was missing from the front, another anomaly in his ever expanding book.

"Hello sir, could I interest you in purchasing a book today?" A short old-lady, with snow-white hair and pale blue eyes, asked.

"Uh, this wasn't… this wasn't really the place I was looking for." Tony said getting ready to turn around and out of the bookstore.

"Oh, are you sure? We're meant to be where we're wanted, right, it seems that you ended up where you were going. With a purpose in mind, I could see it in your eyes as you walked in." The old lady said. The way she spoke… Tony shook his head, it was one thing to believe that alternate realities were a thing, it was another all together to believe that the man was actually an old woman. His skepticism wouldn't let him get past the first stop.

"Do you happen to have any books on Chronos?" Tony asked turning back around to face the older lady. Her eyes seemed to come to life as he mentioned the name.

"See, I knew you had a purpose for coming. I have just the thing here, Myths and Fairytales, you should find what you're looking for there." The lady said, secure in her belief of the book.

"Okay, I'll trust you with this. How much?" Tony said, getting ready to pull out his wallet.

"This one is on the house, hopefully you'll find what you want in there. If not, come back here so I can see what else you might be missing." The old lady instructed.

"Will do, thank you so much." Tony said as he exited the shop.

With a renewed purpose, he set out to devote his entire workday to reading the book. So far he'd only managed to find out that Chronos was the God of Time, something he could have easily searched on the internet, he also had a tendency to talk in riddles and be in multiple places at the same time, tough that also added up to another God, the God of Mischief. Christianity calls him Satan while the myth book calls him Loki. Most of the time Chronos and Loki are confused for each other since one always emulates the other. From what he's seen so far, it seems that maybe Chronos was actually Loki.

This was all too freaking much, he was an atheist for crying out loud. He believed in the things he created, not the things unseen. He closed the book and rubbed circles into his temples trying to calm the strong headache that had appeared halfway through his quest to find some answers.

He wondered if he had any relics from the past, anything that would trigger a butterfly effect. He started with his phone, he and Steve had taken many photos when they had been together. With Tony's unholy amount of money, they would often travel the world and take pictures in monumental sites: the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Vatican, the Colosseum, etc. (So he had a thing for Italy, could you really blame him?)

But as he looked through his saved files he couldn't find a trace of that past, sure he found the photos but it seemed as if Steve had been expertly photoshopped out. Only Tony and sometimes a handsome stranger, but never anyone he recognized, were with him. He looked in his wallet next, there was an array of photos but those were old: their first date, the first time they went to the lake, one where they were riding an elephant…

Tony wondered for the millionth time how he could have so easily given all of this up, all of it for some foolish assumption… all he'd had to do was see how Steve looked at him as if he didn't even recognize him and he knew, instantly, that he had been irrational for thinking that he didn't love him anymore.

It hurt him on a level so far down that even he, master of introspect, couldn't make sense of it. All he wanted to do was see Steve again, but he'd already made a promise not to bother the man again. He was already taken, Barnes had gotten away with him and now…

When Steve had been his, Barnes had disappeared for a long time, he had flown up north, never even showed up to the wedding. Tony didn't quite understand what all of it had been about, but he supposed he knew now, Barnes had probably been pining after Steve for quite some time. In this incarnation of reality, Barnes had won, he'd claimed the prize after Tony fucked it up. The worst part, however, was that Tony couldn't recall the last seven years of this life; it was as if Chronos or Loki had picked them up and dropped them off here, the only thing he did recall were his own memories, but those seemed so far away and lost to him now.

All he wanted were those memories to have been true, he wanted to take it back, take it all back.

But he highly doubted that Loki would listen.

It was exactly two and a half weeks before Tony cracked and went to see Steve again. The tipping point had been waking up repeatedly to a large and empty bed. He hadn't realized how cold it could get with only yourself around.

This time he was a bit more discreet about it, luckily this was one of the work-from-the-office type of days and the blonde was alone. Tony had done some snooping and found that Steve had managed to climb up the ranks and was now head of the GD department.

Steve had been one of Tony's first employees when he first took the company from his father's hands. In had come this bright, young blonde into his office demanding that he be given a chance. Tony should have probably done some more research on the boy at the time, how was he supposed to tell a sixteen and eighteen year old apart?

Anyways, he'd become infatuated with the blonde, he was so talented with his hands… so, so talented. Infatuation turned into fascination, which in turn, begot love. He'd been with the man nearly eleven years, married seven, and he had nothing to show for it but poor decision making and regret.

Steve didn't even look surprised when Tony stepped inside.

"What are you doing here?" Steve asked, because it never seized to amaze him how different Tony's answers could be each time he asked that question.

"This is a nice office, I'm surprised your shadow isn't in one of these corners." Tony mused, ignoring the question, and traipsing his way across the room slowly.

"My shadow… you mean Bucky?" Steve asked, genuinely confused; he had forgotten how Tony liked to toy with words and twist them to suit his sarcasm.

"Yes, Bucky." Tony said, careful not to pour too much disgust into the name. If Steve caught wind of it he'd have Tony forcibly removed.

"He has a job you know, he was only there that day to help me launch the new designs." Steve said, finding it easier to talk with Tony when it concerned work.

"How are those coming, by the way?" Tony asked, finally making it to the guest chair facing directly in-front of Steve.

"They're on their way, my team is taking care of the major details, and I'll supervise the small ones… don't you have, oh you know, a company to run or something?" Steve asked a bit annoyed to see the brunette still lingering in his office. He knew it had been too good to believe when Tony promised to keep out of his life, he was impressed though, he lasted a week longer that he'd originally bet he would.

"I've made sure that it would be self-sustaining for quite some time, I'm really just a figurehead who signs all the checks." Tony joked. Not even chuckle.

"Well, unlike you Mr. Stark, I'm busy. I don't really have time to chat." Steve said hoping that that would dissuade the billionaire from continuing this conversation further.

"You mean with me, you really don't have time to chat with me." Tony corrected.

"I see you haven't changed much, not everything is about you Tony. But would it really be that hard to believe that maybe, yes, I don't want to chat with you?" Steve asked, narrowing his eyes at the brunette.

"Well tough luck, I'm taking you to lunch right now so… let's go." Tony said, getting up from his chair, motioning for Steve to follow suit.

"I have work to do and besides, what makes you think I'll say yes?" Steve said incredulously, he hadn't budged an inch since Tony instructed him to; why would he? He had no intentions on going.

"I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that; come on, my treat." Tony insisted, tapping his foot on the carpeted floor.

"Why?" Steve asked, he'd found himself using that one word a lot lately.

"Humor me?" Tony asked losing his bravado as time continued.

Steve wasn't quite sure why he got up from his desk and followed the brunette into the parking lot. He also wasn't sure why he stepped foot into the car and buckled in his seatbelt. He was quite sure, though, that if he were thinking straight he wouldn't be walking up the stairs of the restaurant to sit in the private area on the roof.

"Now, wasn't that easy?" Tony asked as he flipped through the menu. To be quite frank he wasn't particularly hungry right now, seeing as how he felt as if he'd swallowed a hornet's nest whole.

Steve didn't reply and looked for the most expensive entre he could find, just to spite the brunette. Not that it mattered, Tony could purchase everyone's meals, buy the restaurant, pay the staff, and it still wouldn't put a dent in his bank account. I guess it was nice having all that money.

"Come on Steve, I'm trying to be civil here, please give me a chance. If you remember me at all you'll know that I'm having a difficult time being this sincere." Tony admitted. It was not that he wasn't an honest man, it was simply that he was a sarcastic bastard with a penchant to speak his mind and not really filter what was coming out. Sometimes it was genius and other times it was shit-spewingly bad, but he was willing to try if it meant Steve would talk to him.

"At least you're humble." Steve commented, dryly.

"Come on Steve, I know I did something stupid, boy you have no idea how stupid. But if this is the punishment I really can't take it anymore. It's been almost two months and I can't seem to wake up." Tony said looking into the sky hoping desperately to find the answers in the clouds.

This took Steve by surprise, he wasn't quite sure what Tony was going on about, but he was curious now.

"What do you mean by 'almost two months?'" Steve asked, putting down his menu, he'd already made up his mind on what he wanted to eat.

Before Tony could reply, the waiter came by to take their orders, it was a quick jot of words and he was off again.

"Don't you remember, anything at all?" Tony asked, hoping to see if he could jog his memory. He wasn't quite sure how this whole time-shift worked, but he knew he couldn't be the only one with memories of what once was.

"I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to remember." Steve said, his tone going dark. Tony noticed that he may have hit a raw nerve with that question. Tony had an idea then, he pulled out his phone and scrolled through the most recent pictures, the ones where he and Steve were supposed to be in together.

"Here, look. Don't you remember anything, Paris, Rome, Ireland, anything?" Tony asked, desperately. He wanted so much for Steve to remember a past that never happened to him.

"Okay, I have absolutely no idea what you're going on about and frankly I think you may be confusing me with someone else." Steve said a bit worried now. He did always find it odd how'd they'd suddenly broken it off. Well it was more like Tony broke it off and he never even saw it coming.

Tony fingered the empty space on his ring finger, a nervous tick that he had developed ever since he woke up. "Sorry, I… guess I must be confusing something… I just… how have you been Steve, no bullshit this time." Tony said, putting his phone away and taking a deep breath. He did say he was trying to be civil, jogging memories that didn't exists didn't quite coincide with that.

"Fine, all things considered, it's getting to that time of the year where everyone needs to turn in their portfolios soon in order to find a viable candidate for the new design." Steve said. As soon as he'd finished talking the waiter returned with their food.

"So, busy?" Tony asked, taking a sip of his water. He would have gotten something stronger, but the last time he drank he changed the entire course of history, so he'd rather not.

"Yeah, pretty much, but it's a good busy. We're making a lot of progress and many of the kids I have are showing great potential." Steve said, he was actually smiling for once. It was nice to see that on his face.

"If they are half as good as you when you started then I trust they'll do well." And just like that, the smile was gone.

"Tony, could you just please stop bringing up the past? I don't know what has gotten into you lately, but whatever you think you're doing or accomplishing by taking me to lunch or having nonessential small talk needs to stop. I'm gonna ask you again, and please just stop dodging the question, why are you back?" Steve pleaded; his blue eyes were so bright and filled with confusion, it was hard for Tony to believe that this was the same man he was with for so long. They looked the same, but felt so different.

"Like I said, I made a big mistake. And I'm not quite sure I'll ever be able to fix it. You wouldn't care though, seeing as you've moved on." Tony said, angrily shoveling the food down his throat.

"Bucky is not a part of this, so leave him out." Steve warned the brunette. He was starting to realize that Tony was keeping something major from him, something that he should probably already know. "Are you okay Tony?" Steve asked noticing (after allowing himself the chance to) how pale and thin the other man had gotten. He remembered him so clearly sometimes, full of life and energy, always bouncing up and down the walls.

"Ha, I wish I knew. Mentally, I have no clue, but the Jury's always been out for that one. Physically, well, I haven't eaten anything properly for weeks, sleep—what sleep? The little I do consume I end up throwing up anyways so, I don't know. Make your own conclusions." Tony said, he really hadn't meant to reveal so much. He was so willing to tell Steve anything and everything, though, if it meant even a chance for the blonde to talk to him more, to pay attention to him. So maybe admitting his weaknesses wasn't such a bad idea if it meant Steve would stop looking at him with so much resentment.

"I'm no doctor, but it kinda' sounds like you're pregnant." Steve said, a half-smile blooming over his face. It had been a long time since he'd cracked such a bad joke; Bucky was normally the funny one.

"Ha, that's funny, really. I think I'd make a great single dad, I have the money." Tony mused glad to see that Steve was capable of making fun of him but not be bitter about it.

"It takes more than money to raise a child, though that does help." Steve reminded.

"I know, but I'm sure I could do it. Maybe I should, get my mind off things…" Tony said, he'd never thought of it before. Steve and he had been together for so long, but never once had it crossed his mind to adopt a child. He guessed it was too late to ponder the possibility.

"You should get yourself checked out before adopting something as important as a child. Or start with a dog." Steve cautioned. He and Bucky had thought about it before but both their schedules were too busy to try and crowbar building a family into it. Hopefully, when they were a little more financially secure, and they could purchase a house cash, then maybe.

"I recalled you used to love dogs, did you ever get one?" Tony asked, he knew Steve had told him to stop bringing up the past, but how else was he supposed to make conversation?

"Can't, Bucky's allergic. We thought of getting a cat, but our work kinda' gets in the way of things." Steve admitted.

"Are you saying I should give you more free time?" Tony teased.

"You're not really the one in charge of my schedule." Steve reminded.

"Right, but I'm sure they'd make some exceptions; really, if you need it, just ask." Tony said.

"I don't need it, we're fine. There are others who need it more than I do." Plus, Steve didn't want to seem as if he were mooching off the boss, people would start talking, and the last thing he needed were for people to make assumptions and for them to get back to Bucky. He was already worried that someone had seen him with Tony today.

They spent the duration of the meal in silence, there wasn't really much to say or, more aptly put, what they wanted to say wasn't appropriate to talk about in public.

ooOOoo

"Thank you for the food Tony, I very much appreciated the courtesy." Steve said as they neared his office.

"Anytime, though I'm guessing you want this to remain a onetime thing?" Tony said more than asked. He was really expecting Steve to acquiesce, say yes and be done with it, but the blonde hesitated, actually hesitated since this entire fiasco started, and that gave Tony hope that maybe all was not lost. If he could make Steve hesitate… he could make Steve do anything, then.

"Yeah, yeah, we should keep this a onetime thing. Thanks anyways." Steve wasn't quite sure why he'd stopped to think of the reply. Was his resolve breaking? Was he really that weak? Jesus, he needed to do something about it soon.

"Talk to you later then-

"Wait, Tony. I'm not quite sure what it is that you're doing or why you're doing it, but if you're not gonna go away, I can't force you. So, I think it's best if we bury the hatchet along with all the bad blood we had. When you left, I was distraught, but it's been a long time since then and I kinda' feel like moving on would be best. I'm not saying we should start over, I'm just saying that I won't send you away if you come my way again." Steve said. What the hell was he doing?! He was opening himself up for more of Tony's manipulations, why had he said all that?!

Tony, on the other hand, was shell-shocked. He had not expected Steve to be so civil so quickly. He could have sworn the blonde hated his guts, hated him so much so that he'd rather Tony not exist than have to see him ever again. But this, this was totally different, and so unexpected; a little bit of hope flourished in his chest but he stamped it down as quickly as he could, no need for that. Tony tried not to look too smug as he nodded in agreement to what Steve said.

"Yeah, that's cool. I'm glad we can see eye-to-eye on this. For once, anyways. Enjoy the rest of your day. I'll be in my office if you need me." Tony said, aiming for nonchalance but verging on hopeful, nevertheless.

"Yeah, see you." Steve said walking away from the brunette.

A/N: Well, well, well. It seems that a way through a man's heart is through his stomach.