Tony flew through the door, still smiling over the stupid "Mr. Stank" joke. He shot forward onto the partially restored lawn past an old man sitting on a bench and looked around, half expecting Steve to be out running laps around the compound or helping rebuild by moving heavy things out of the way.

"Where'd you go, boy scout? Break an arm recently? New scars? Nat mentioned something happened, I'd like to hear it from you. We both know how spies can get about…" Tony was in the middle of turning himself around to survey the area when he did a double take at the old man on the bench, faltering completely. "Cap?"

Tony took a moment to try and verify or debunk his own guess. He took in the old man's features. Same blue eyes and facial structure. Ok, sure, lots of old guys probably had that eye color and maybe a few would keep their good looks as the years went by. Although he also had the typical old guy body, it certainly looked well kept from what was probably a career as a bodybuilder or pro athlete- or someone with the super-soldier serum doing that job for them.

Dammit, Tony! Pick a side! Tony scolded himself. But the more he tried to convince himself it couldn't possibly be Steve, the more he was sure it was him. He just had to wait for definitive proof that didn't seem like a weird coincidence.

There! Tony was shaking in anticipation as the old man pulled a ringing cell phone from his pocket. What an outdated model. Could it really be him?

The man on the bench answered the call with a smile. "Hey Peg."

There was a pause as the caller responded that Tony took as an opportunity to freak out. "What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck…" he whispered, eyes wide and mind racing. Why is he old? Is that really Peggy Carter, my dead Aunt Peggy that he's talking to? Is there some time travel shenanigans going on right now? Wait, was he the one to take the stones back?

Tony's flood of thoughts stopped in its tracks as he watched the Maybe Steve chuckle at something from the call and respond. "Yes, the boys will be joining us for dinner. I promise they'll be on their best behavior this time around. Coats, boots, and weapons checked at the door."

Probably Steve's grin faded to something more pained and longing after the next pause. "She said they couldn't make it tonight because Morgan has school tomorrow. I've been trying to reach out, Peg, I really have been, but maybe you're right- they do need space."

Tony jumped forward, barely stopping himself in time from snatching the phone away.

Morgan? Morgan!

Tony slapped himself on the wrist and resorted to floating in circles around Almost Steve and continued eavesdropping.

"Yes, ma'am. I'll be back in time for dinner. Love you, dear," Most Likely Steve said, smiling softly. "Bye."

Tony peered over the man's shoulder, watching him flip the phone shut. The old man slumped into the slight curve of the bench against his back and sighed. Tony hovered quietly, waiting for him to do something to confirm his identity.

Tony waited impatiently, zipping around the bench in circles and occasionally pacing midair. He was just about to leave and report back to Natasha when he heard Somewhat Steve speak up again.

"Hey Nat. It's been a while since we've talked, or really since I've thought out loud in the hopes that it would somehow reach you. Not a day goes by when we haven't missed you."

Tony whipped around and stopped dead in his tracks, taking a moment to breathe and process what he just heard. Definitely Steve continued his talk.

"Don't give me that look, you know the Bartons miss their Auntie Nat. Peggy never got to watch you spar or dance or see you in person. Thor's off-world again, so I have no idea how he's doing, but I'm sure that's how he's working through all of this loss. Bruce has thrown himself into his work again and all of the labs are still off limits. Hell, most of the gym is exactly as you left it. Nobody wants to touch the Widow's old stuff."

Tony drew closer, taking note of Steve's fragile, bittersweet smile as he drew a shaky breath and continued.

"As for me… it's been years of waiting. Waiting to step back into the life I had before staying behind, and all I could do was watch and hope I would live until then. It was a hard five years until Peggy came back from being snapped and even harder to know my team was hurting or gone the whole time. And when I finally could, it turns out the serum couldn't keep up with me for that long,"

"I kept busy running therapy groups under a false name until the snap was reversed and I could do it less often under my own name. Well, now it's Steven Carter, Steven Carter-Rogers, or Grant Carter, depending on who you ask and when. It was easier to stay under the radar like that back in the day. And I guess I got so caught up in helping others through everything lately that I never worked out my own issues, which is why I like to take the time to talk to you, though it's closer to thinking out loud and hoping you can hear it."

Steve took out a worn square of cloth from his pocket and wiped stray tears from his face. A freaking handkerchief? Tony thought absentmindedly. Christ, he's old.

"Well, that brings me to another unresolved issue, Nat. I'll talk to him about it, I promise you. Goodbye for now."

Tony hovered above the open side of the bench, curious as to what Steve had to say next. But his patience only held out so long, and just as he was about to leave he heard Steve speak up again.

"Tony."

He froze and slowly turned back towards the old super soldier, wondering whether he had heard anything at all.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Tony sank down onto the ground, walking softly and silently to take a seat on the bench beside Steve. He never once noticed the unconsciously activated orange glow around his feet that flared with each step, or the tiny clover flowers that swayed as he passed by. He was entirely fixated on what Steve was going to say to him.

"Everybody's been missing you, Stark. The world will never forget its genius billionaire playboy philanthropist superhero. You left one hell of a mark on it to leave the entire universe knowing your name as well."

Tony sat beside Steve on the bench, intrigued and hanging on his every word.

"But while everyone's been mourning Iron Man, the truth is that I miss Tony Stark."

Tony turned and gaped at his (literally) old teammate. He had years to move on and knew what was coming, and yet he still somehow misses me, his stubborn jackass of a former rival? We fought like Tesla and Edison over all kinds of shit- Ultron, the Accords, his best friend, losing the fight against Thanos, and he still cares?

"When I woke up from the ice, almost everyone I knew was long gone. I had nothing left of them but memories and things currently missing, destroyed, or kept in museums. But the only thing that made a difference to me then was their legacies."

"I was in a really bad place back then- lost, confused, and forced to sink or swim. After I accepted the fact that the world had moved on and I had to catch up, I found out about the wonderful things my friends had left behind. Families I could connect with, amazing life stories, and even international organizations. I was absurdly proud to hear about what I thought was Peggy and Howard's greatest creation: SHIELD. But that was before I realized it was something different than I thought it would be, with HYDRA pulling all the strings. And it was before I heard about you."

Tony was beyond shocked at what he was hearing. It can't possibly get any more surprising than this…

"I was overjoyed to find out that my friend had a kid that turned out to be smarter than he was. I didn't think that was possible at the time, and then I started hearing about all of the great things he did. Building circuit boards before he could ride a bike. Graduating from MIT before other kids his age were considering applying to it. Surviving loss after loss, turning the focus of a worldwide company completely around, and building a marvelous flying suit- more than once! I was thrilled and couldn't wait to meet you, but then I started hearing about the bad things. Rumors and SHIELD files blinded me from all of the good you could do. One of my greatest regrets is that it took seeing you carry a missile to realize it again."

Tony definitely wasn't crying. His eyeballs were just leaking, that's all. Nothing a good smack with a wrench couldn't fix.

"And then I forgot. Over and over again. We both made mistakes, but perhaps my biggest one was never forgiving you until it was too late. It was never like that with you, Tony. You gave the Avengers a home, funding, upgrades, and so much support through the years. You always poured yourself into fixing everything, and I wish I could have stopped you from giving too much. It wish it had been me to take the stones and snap Thanos away, and hold on long enough to say sorry and goodbye before it was too late."

Both men were openly weeping by then. Tony reached out to hug Steve but passed clean through him. His shoulders heaved and he started crying harder. Tony panicked over the fact that he couldn't help Steve and started to do the same. It took a minute or two for Steve to calm down enough to finish and for Tony to calm down enough to listen. Steve blew his nose, sniffled, and shakily finished his speech.

"Tony, if you're out there, I just want you to know that I never forgave you often enough or soon enough than I should have. You deserved so much better than what you got, and for that I am so sorry. I wish I had done more or had been the one to die instead. Please forgive me."

The two of them relapsed into sobbing uncontrollably. "I do, Steve, I really do!" Tony cried. His arms kept passing through Steve, who shook ever so slightly each time they did so. "Dammit, Rogers! I'm right here!"

Tony pulled away and sat to Steve's left on the bench, tears pouring onto his face and tracing down his cheeks. "I'm right here." He buried his face in his hands, still crying little glowing droplets that hung from his ghostly skin. He didn't even care that they were sliding off there and onto the bench, and that when he finally lifted his head he was getting a confused look in his general direction from Steve, and then one of slowly dawning comprehension that turned into shock. He just kicked his softly glowing feet, not realizing that he was moving the grass under them, and turned to run off so he could mope and regret things in peace.

Why the fuck was he looking at me? I can't even have a good cry as a ghost without getting looked at funny…

"Tony?"

"What?" Tony replied absentmindedly.

"Is that really you?"

"Yeah, sure… WAIT, YOU CAN SEE ME?"

Author's Note: I may or may not have cried while writing this.

We've passed the 15k word mark, people! Thanks for the support so far, I love reading any reviews you leave me! :D