"Miranda Williams," the woman answers.

Tony lets out a short sigh. He doesn't really know why he's nervous. He's been seeing Miranda long enough times to be comfortable speaking on the phone with her. "Miranda?"

"Tony," she replies with a hint of relief. "I thought maybe you'd forgotten about your appointment today."

"Yeah, um, I'm not gonna make it. I'm out of town on an impromptu trip."

"Oh, well, would you like to reschedule for a time later in the week? I have an opening Thursday morning if you're available."

"Actually, I really feel like I need it today. A lot of stuff happened and I know it's kind of unconventional, but conventionality isn't really my style, so could we possibly do this over the phone?"

"Well, it's nothing I've done before, but I don't really see why not."

"Thank you," Tony says softly. He's relieved that Miranda is so flexible.

"So what's been going on?"

He holds his breath for a moment before exhaling. "An entire fucking shit storm. I broke up with Bucky," Tony says quietly. It still feels so surreal. He still wishes it never happened.

"How did that go?"

"I did it on the phone like you suggested. It was really hard because I knew I was hurting him. I was hurting myself, too, but I knew I had to do it if I wanted to fix things with Steve."

"Did Bucky take it okay?"

"Not really," Tony mutters. "I mean, would anyone take it okay?"

"Some people better than others."

"I try not to think about how he's doing. I know that he drinks a lot when he's upset. I miss him, though."

"That's understandable. What do you miss about him?"

"I miss having someone to talk to. I can't relate to anyone as easily as I do to him. I miss being with him, hanging out at his apartment, watching TV—just doing anything. I mean, besides the whole Steve issue, everything with Bucky was so simple."

"Do you wish you hadn't ended things?"

"In a way, but I also knew that it was the right thing to do. I couldn't be what he needed. I couldn't just drop everything to be with him and I know that's what he wanted. I knew that as long as I was still married to Steve I couldn't give Bucky everything he deserves. Not that it matters anymore anyway," Tony sighs.

"Why doesn't it matter?"

"Because I told Steve and he flipped out. I don't know how we're ever going to get past this and I really don't want to fix things anymore. When I told him about Bucky he got really upset and he hit me, and I'm emotionally done. I can't do it anymore."

Miranda is a professional and she usually doesn't express any hint of surprise or shock, but when she responds she can't hide her concern. "Steve hit you?"

"Yeah. He was yelling at me, I got defensive and yelled back, and then he punched me. I left and I haven't been home since."

"How did that make you feel?"

Tony snorts and answers, "Violated, but Steve is against any sort of bullying so if he throws a punch I probably deserve it."

"Has this happened before?" Miranda asks.

"Yeah, it happened a few of months ago when I was getting ready for a benefit. Steve was already dressed and he was hollering at me to hurry up. I got pissed and told him to shut up, and he kind of knocked the door down and hit me. Bucky was living with us then but he didn't ask what happened. I guess he assumed, but he never brought it up, which I'm thankful for."

"What was your reaction the first time he hit you?"

Tony clears his throat and attempts to sound neutral and unbothered when he explains what happened.

"I wasn't as angry as I should've been. I mean, I was pissed, but I didn't really do anything about it. I told Steve that he could go to the benefit alone. I knew at that point that things were getting bad. I came into the living room where Bucky was watching TV and I sat down next to him and leaned against him. I could tell he wanted to ask what happened, and he seemed concerned, but he never asked. Now that I look back at all the shit that's happened, I kind of realize that he was there at my most vulnerable moments after fights with Steve. And maybe—I don't know, maybe that's the reason we grew so close. He was always kind of like a refuge."

"From what I'm hearing it sounds to me like you're concentrating on ending things with Bucky rather than fixing things with Steve. The last time we met, you sounded so sure about mending your marriage. What happened?"

Tony bites his lip a little and sighs into the receiver. "After Steve punched me, I left for my house in Malibu, and I haven't seen him since. He called me earlier today wanting to talk about what happened. I guess hearing his voice again set me off, and I told him that it's over and I'm done."

"Was he surprised?"

"He was upset, yeah," Tony shrugs. "He apologized for punching me, and I told him that I appreciated the apology, but it didn't change anything. I mean, I know—I know that I'm not innocent in any of this. The fact still stands that he punched me after he promised never to do it again."

"Do you think if Steve hadn't hit you that you could've worked through the mess of the affair?"

"I was hoping," Tony says quietly. "Maybe it's a guilt thing for cheating on him, but I was starting to feel like I owed it to him to give it a second chance. I know that he has a big heart and he could've forgiven me in time, but I guess what I said got to him. I—I guess it's my fault that it escalated to this."

Miranda clears her throat quietly. "Do you mind me asking what it was that you said?"

"Steve kept insisting that I had some part in persuading Bucky to have the affair, which I didn't, but Steve didn't believe that. He kept saying that Bucky wouldn't do that to him but he could believe that I would cheat, and I got so tired of hearing him defend Bucky that I snapped back. My response was something like, 'Well, he did, and so did I' and that's when everything went to shit. Steve had already overturned the kitchen table and that's when he threw the punch."

"That hardly justifies spousal abuse. What did Steve do after that? Did he show immediate remorse?"

"No," Tony says quietly. "He said 'fuck you' and yelled at me to get out. And he said he hated me, which I didn't even address when I'm talking on the phone. Okay, and I know that people say things they don't mean when they're upset, but I—I can't ignore that either. I don't think 'I hate you' is something you say when you don't mean it."

"I can see why you would think that," Miranda remarks.

"I guess I should've reminded him that he said it. I'm not used to reacting emotionally, but I guess I did when I talked to Steve on the phone."

"How have you been dealing with all of this?"

"Drinking," Tony mutters. "I drink a lot; I don't sleep for days at a time. I can't remember the last time I ate anything substantial."

"I want you to try something. I'd like you to try a schedule with regular hours and meals. I promise that, if nothing else, you will feel more physically able to deal with the emotional stress you're going through. Try it for a week, two weeks, a month—however long you're willing to try."

Tony makes a face, but Pepper has always told him the same thing, so he figures it wouldn't hurt to at least try.

"I think I could try it for a week," he agrees.

"Good," Miranda says softly.

"There's something else I wanted to ask you."

"What's that?"

"What's the next step? I—I feel like I need to go home and deal with Steve directly, but I don't know how. I don't think I can stay in the tower."

"Could you ask Steve to find a place to stay for the moment? Do you think that's something he'd be willing to do?"

"Maybe. I know he wants to talk about what happened, and if I do convince him that we need a divorce, I think it'd be best to do it quickly. I can't exactly deal with it if I'm across the continent."

"It would be a bit difficult."

"So, I think—I don't know, I think I'm gonna fly home and see if Steve's willing to move out for a while. I guess I'll see you in a week, then?"

"Sure thing. Bye, Tony."

When Tony lands he sits in the jet where it's quiet and nothing is distracting him. He knows he shouldn't do this. He knows he's entirely predictable for doing it, but he feels the burning need for closure, so he picks up his phone and texts Bucky.

Meet me in the diner in 30 minutes. It's important.

Tony never does get a reply, but he goes to the diner anyway. The place is mostly empty as he takes a seat in one of the booths with a cup of crappy coffee and a stale donut. Tony snorts at the music they're playing because it sounds like something Steve would listen to.

He's too busy mentally criticizing the horrible elevator music that he doesn't hear the bells on the door jingle as someone steps into the restaurant, and then Bucky slides into the opposite side of Tony's booth.

"What's so important?"

Tony is startled as he jumps a little. "Didn't think you were coming."

"I wasn't going to," James mumbles.

"So why did you?"

He shrugs. "I—I don't know. I'm fuckin' stupid, I guess. And I thought that maybe if you were serious, you'd wait for me. I didn't think you'd still be here."

Tony finally looks up at him and their eyes lock only for a moment. "Well, I waited, so what does that tell you?"

Bucky purses his lips and looks down at the cracked linoleum tabletop, deciding to remain silent.

Tony clears his throat. "I'm going through so much shit right now and I'm sorry I dragged you into it. I've known for a while Steve and I were headed to divorce. You were just the unintended collateral damage in all of this. I'm sorry I hurt you."

Bucky snorts. "I'm sorry I was stupid enough to get attached and let you convince me you were actually leaving Steve."

"I don't know where Steve and I are headed now. I told him I wanted a divorce, so I'm coming back home to see if that's what I really want and to deal with all of that, but there's here's the thing: I love you. I don't know what that means. I don't know where you and I stand, but I have a ton of shit to sort out. I don't expect you to wait around for me, but maybe when all of this is over, if by some miracle you wanted to, we could work things out."

"What makes you think I want to work things out?"

"I don't know if you do," Tony admits sheepishly. "I couldn't blame you if you didn't want to. But I'm hoping you'd want to if the opportunity presented itself."

Bucky looks down at his hands on the table, shrugging. "I don't know what to say. I can't give you an answer right now and I sure as fuck can't promise you anything."

"You don't have to promise me. I don't expect an answer. I just wanted you to know." Tony wads up his napkin and drinks the last sip of his coffee. "I'll see you around," he says before he stands up.

"Yeah," Bucky shrugs. "Maybe."