Thank you for the lovely reviews. One negative one: to address their issues; I said long ago, this was a different Peter- raised in privilege and with loving, attentive parents. I had no wish to tell the usual Peter and Tony story again, it has been done very well by much better writers than me. As far as their issues with my handling of a same sex couple, I have based this on some good friends of mine; my observations have been that their challenges raising children are much the same as heterosexual parents. Perhaps it is too vanilla for some, probably on the wrong site then? Archive would suit better.

This story is far from done- yes we are going to the end! The bitter end!

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Steve was walking, he walked a lot, it cleared his head; allowed him to imagine that his family would be there when he got back and they would all have dinner together.

His phone rang, he glanced at it and when he saw the number he panicked. Was one of the kids sick or hurt?

He answered instantly, he may be a wanted criminal but he was still a caring, loving father.

''Hello,'' he said nervously.

There was a long silence but he could hear breathing, so he waited.

''Steve, it's me,'' Love crashed through Steve as he heard the voice he missed with every cell of his body.

''I know,'' he breathed.

Tony winced as the ache hit him hard; he searched for something to say, all the speeches he had rehearsed disappeared into the ether.

''I'm sorry that I hurt you Tony. I am not sorry about the Accords but I am sorry for not telling you about your parents; sorry I protected Bucky when you should have been my priority. I should have told you long ago but I convinced myself that I was protecting you; I had no right to keep the truth from you,'' Steve said sincerely.

Tony felt his chest tighten, not quite believing what he was hearing.

''I love you,'' he managed to say the most important words.

Steve flinched; he had never heard Tony sound so broken, so completely destroyed, not even in Siberia. He had done that, he was responsible.

''I love you too,'' Steve replied very clearly, he needed Tony to know he meant it- he had never stopped loving him and never would.

''What happened in Siberia, I can't start to explain it. I can't explain but you have to know I am so sorry and I regret it. I'm just so sorry,'' Steve trailed off, how could he apologise adequately for the unforgivable?

There was a long silence, a very long silence.

''You sent the rescue team didn't you?'' Tony eventually spoke.

''Yes,'' Steve whispered.

Another silence.

''I shouldn't have tried to force the Accords on you; I should have stood with you. It was disloyal, I am sorry too,'' Tony took his share of the blame.

There was yet more silence as both men took a much needed moment to collect themselves.

''Jesus Steve, this is a mess,'' Tony relaxed, the power of speech returning once he knew he was not going to be rejected.

''It is. I didn't know, I didn't know it would end up like this. I didn't think it would destroy us,'' Steve's voice broke and he suppressed the tears that were rising in his chest.

He had been praying for this conversation and he had to make it count.

''It hasn't destroyed us but it's not easy to fix. I didn't understand the high cost either. If I had realised, I would have fought harder against the Accords. I just didn't see it getting so out of hand, '' Tony was honest.

There was silence again, a comfortable silence, a familiar silence.

''I miss you,'' Steve spoke from the heart.

''I miss you too,'' Tony replied with no hesitation.

''I can't come home can I?'' Steve knew the answer.

''No, you can't. Ross is out for your blood. Steve, please listen, I am working on this okay? I am doing everything I can. Sweetheart, you will come home eventually but it could be a while,'' Tony said with immense regret.

Steve closed his eyes in agony at the endearment, he wanted to go home. That's all he wanted, just to go home. Go home to his husband and children, the family he loved so much.

Oh now you love them, what about when you decided to go rogue? You threw them to one side then didn't you?

His conscience reminded him.

He could miss out on so much, miss seeing his children grow up, he may not even recognise them the next time he saw them, especially Morgan. Harley might be away at college, there wasn't much of his childhood left- he was on the cusp on manhood. Steve tried to control his emotions, but it was so hard.

''Dad, Dad, can I have a snack? I'm starving,'' Peter's voice echoed in the background and Steve momentarily reeled, then he recovered and strained to listen; hearing his children's voices was better than nothing.

''You're always hungry douche bag,'' Harley was there as well and they were bickering as usual.

Steve smiled through his distress, how he wished he could scold Harley for his language.

''Guys keep it down. I'm on the phone,'' Tony said.

''It's okay. I want to hear them, I need to hear them,'' Steve said, a pained hitch evident.

Tony wiped a despairing hand over his eyes, how did they get here? How did they allow it to come to this?

Steve begging to listen to his children's voices on a crackling phone as he sat exiled on the other side of the world.

''To who? Is that Aunt Pepper, can you ask her if she can bring the new Spiderman Lego over? I know they sent it to her,'' Peter asked and Steve was overcome with longing yet again.

Longing to be home with his husband and children, cooking the evening meal whilst refereeing the boys' squabbling.

''Hey Harls, I'm a Lego now,'' Peter proclaimed proudly.

''Shut the Front Door, you are not!''

''Oh yeah I am, jealous much? I am called Friendly Neighbourhood Spiderman, how dope is that?''

Steve could listen to this simple family banter for hours, it felt like home- it was home.

''Dad, the baby's crying,'' Harley suddenly said.

''I have to go, sorry. Remember I love you and we will get through this. I will call again,'' Tony hung up- leaving Steve completely bereft.

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The next day Natasha called.

''Hey you, how are you holding up?'' she tried to be up-beat and Steve loved her for the effort.

''Not great, but getting by,'' he replied.

'' I took care of your kids today,'' she said bluntly.

''Did you? How come?'' Steve thought she was banned from the Tower after her actions in Berlin.

''Tony called me a while back, asked me to help redraft the Accords. I moved back in. He's a mess Steve,'' Natasha replied. Steve was very aware, he was the same.

''I know, I spoke to him.''

''Good, you should be speaking. You can't function without each other,'' Natasha called it as it was.

''I know Nat, my nightmare too remember?'' Steve didn't bother with false platitudes, he was way past those.

''Well he is breaking his neck to get the Accords acceptable to you, so there is light at the end of the tunnel,'' she relayed and Steve felt a small ignition of hope.

''Wanna hear about the kids?'' She jolted him back to reality.

''Yeah, tell me about my kids,'' Steve smiled which was a rare occurrence these days.

''Well Morgan is adorable, smiley, happy, has Tony wrapped around her little finger, she is walking now. Harley is a teddy bear, sweet, good-natured, doing well at football, his grades aren't so good but Bruce is helping him,'' she paused. Steve warmed at her comforting words then he frowned.

He braced himself knowing she had saved the worst for last.

''What about Peter?'' he asked nervously.

''Peter is not doing well Steve, not well at all. He goes out every night as Spiderman, worries Tony to death. You know that Tony didn't bring him to Berlin. Peter chose to fight you,'' Natasha waited to let that sink in.

''Yeah I know, I figured that out myself. All the problems we were having with Peter all make sense after the fact. His illness, the stealing, the secrecy, fighting at school, all of it,'' Steve didn't even know how to begin to deal with the fact that Peter deliberately confronted him, that he chose to fight him.

It was deeply hurtful; it was not a stretch to say that his youngest son hated him.

''Peter has been injured several times, stabbed on one occasion which was only superficial but not a good omen. He is out of his depth and putting himself in danger. Tony has no control over him, he tries but Peter does as he pleases and we are all concerned. Rhodey, Bruce, me, we have all tried talking to him; he just shrugs and walks away. He needs you Steve; he is being this way because you aren't here. He needs his Pops to come home before something dreadful happens,'' Natasha laid it all out.

''He does as he pleases? Why the hell isn't anyone stopping him? He's a child, just stop him,'' Steve was exasperated and not a little scared.

''We have tried, but he only listens to you. He's clever Steve, finds a way around everything we try. Tony is so fixated on the Accords and getting you home that he turns a blind eye. Peter is too much for him alone.''

''Stabbed, he was stabbed?'' Steve was appalled; Peter was twelve, a baby. He was supposed to be safe and warm in his bed at night- not fighting crime.

''Yes, I am sorry but he was stabbed. Steve, I get why you did what you did but now you have to swallow your pride and do everything you can to come home. Your son needs you to come home,'' Natasha took off the kid gloves, not that she had been wearing them in the first place.

''He hates me,'' Steve was poleaxed.

''No, don't do that. This is not about you, he does not hate you. If anything he loves you so much that he can't cope with losing you. Are you listening to me Steve? Your child is mourning you as if you died, you have to fix this,'' Natasha was tough, very tough.

Oh God what had he done? Why didn't he consider his children before he made these major decisions? He considered Wanda, but forgot about his own children? What was he thinking?

''I need some time Nat. I hear you. Sorry,'' Steve hung up abruptly.

Then Captain America, one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes put his head in his hands and wept.

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"Would you please explain this dreadful piece of paper to me?" Tony waved his hand over the report card and stared at Peter, who started to fidget in his seat.

"Ummm, I don't know. School just kind of got away from me," Peter now spent most nights swinging through New York dealing with petty crime.

His father ensured he had a suit of armour around him, it didn't look like armour but that was what it was, plus he had his very own AI who monitored his every move. If he so much as grazed his knee, his dad knew about it within seconds.

Peter had a strict curfew which he broke constantly; Tony felt his baby slipping through his fingers and he didn't know how to stop it. He needed help, assistance with this boy before he got seriously hurt or worse but there was no one to turn to.

"What was our deal Petey Pie?" Tony asked and Peter squirmed, he knew how this would end, grounding plus a bunch of chores.

"Sorry Dad," Peter sniffed loudly. Tony was very aware he was being manipulated; he was the king of manipulation.

"You are a brat, a very cute brat but not quite cute enough. You are sentenced to a month of hard core grounding, a month to get these grades up; a month with restricted, very restricted screen time and absolutely no Spiderling. You hear me?" Tony raised his eyebrows and Peter nodded, aware arguing was futile.

A month with no Spider-Man, well that was not happening; Peter would wait a few days and then would be right back out there. He would have to get his man in the chair on the case, he required safe passage.

"Bedtime, shower and pyjamas, give me your phone," Tony held his hand out and Peter pouted but handed it over.

He would take the suit when Peter was asleep; he couldn't face the argument at that moment, so he delayed the inevitable.

"You are so unfair dad, real mean," Peter grumbled as he stood up.

"Hey, watch it," Tony pulled the boy onto his lap and tickled him.

Peter giggled and laughed as his Dad tortured him.

"Bed! Scoot you little monster," Tony sent Peter away with a sharp swat on the butt.

"Ow! Dad that hurt," the boy complained.

"Good, it was supposed to, get these grades up or I will beat you within an inch of your life. Go to bed!" Tony replied. Peter rolled his eyes and disappeared to his room.

"You are such a great father," Pepper said from behind the counter.

"Am I? Not sure that's true. Losing control of Petey Pie, he just will not follow the rules," Tony sighed, he wiped a hand over his face, he missed Steve so much it physically hurt.

Speaking to him on the phone had worsened the ache.

"You need help," Pepper said softly.

"Yeah I need help," Tony admitted.

He was different now, more circumspect and reflective; this experience had changed him. He was less cocky, unsure, occasionally modest and he carried an aura of sadness; a prevailing air of sadness and loss, loss of the man who was his better half. He was also painfully aware that he could not control everything however hard he tried, least of all his children.

"He will come home Tony, he will. He loves you too much to stay away forever," Pepper took a risk.

Tony smiled tightly and pinched the bridge of his nose, he was exhausted. Morgan had a cold and was not sleeping well, thus Tony was not sleeping well either.

"I am nearly there Pep, with these new amendments Steve has to accept the Accords. If he doesn't then I have my answer don't I?" Tony replied, Pepper could do nothing but nod.

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