Pepper Potts got a phone call at one in the morning that woke her out of a very good dream so when the phone rang she grumpily asked, "Who the hell is this?" surprised to hear Tony Stark's voice on the other end.

"He's gone, Pepper," Tony whispered, his voice hollow.

"Tony? Who's gone? Tony what's happened?" she asked, suddenly frantic.

His laugh sounded bitter and brittle, scaring her. "Steve. He went home," he whispered.

She froze. "Tony, what are you talking about? Steve lives with YOU."

Tony took a breath and said, "I pushed hard enough that he went where he really belongs. Back to nineteen forty three."

Pepper put a hand over her mouth. "Oh Tony, no, you didn't let him leave did you? How could you do that?"

"It's what's best for him. He'll be happy and in love with the woman of his dreams. He can have kids, Pep. He always wanted kids," he said sounding wistful.

She gripped the phone and said, "Tony, he could have kids with YOU! You can adopt as many kids as he wants!

Tony was quiet.

"You just sent away the best thing that will ever happen to you. You know that," she whispered, tears in her eyes, "I've seen the two of you together. I…I watched you fall madly in love. I can't…Tony…"

"He'll be happier there, Pepper," he said, his voice once again sounding hollow.

She bit her lip before saying angrily, "Well if you want to be miserable and alone for the rest of your life it looks like you've succeeded. Because I sure as hell…"

"Goodnight Pepper," he said suddenly, hanging up on her.

Pepper stared at the phone in her hand in shock before putting it back down slowly.

She lay back down, unable to close her eyes.

Warm arms enveloped her and she sighed looking over her shoulder. "You heard?"

James Rhodes kissed her temple and said, "Tony did something stupid again."

She nodded. "I…I'm worried, Jim. I…think he's broken."

He kissed her mouth and whispered, "Hasn't he always been?"

Pepper shook her head. "Not when he had Steve."

Two weeks followed before anyone even thought to try and see Tony.

When they did, it ended up being the very last person he ever wanted to see again but the only one who could get inside the fortress he'd built around his home.

It was morning, or night, Tony didn't know. Days and hours seemed to have blended together. When he heard the security gates all go up and light flooded his bedroom he screamed, covering his eyes and moaning.

He heard Jarvis call out, "Colonel Fury is entering the house, sir. He is alone, but armed and carrying several books."

Tony's eyes narrowed.

How dare Nick enter his home after everything that had happened? He moved to stand and stumbled nearly falling on his face, which was how Nick found him.

"Good morning, Tony!" Nick said cheerfully, stepping over Tony to throw a pile of books on his bed.

Tony looked up at him from the floor. "Fuck you."

Nick smiled. "Now, now, kid. I'm not the one who tore a hole through the heart of the only man he's ever loved, did I?"

Tony stood shakily, wavering a bit and moved to hit Nick but was easily deflected and pushed down on the bed. "Ow."

"I brought you some picture books and journals to look at. Thought you might want to see what Steve's been up to since he left. Not at all what I imagine you would have guessed," Nick said, his voice still sounding cheerful.

Tony grabbed one of the books and frowned at the title.

Howard Stark: A Life.

He looked at Nick. "Is this a joke?"

Nick stared at him with his eyebrow raised. "Do I look like I'm laughing?," he asked, then smiled a bit, "Okay maybe just a little."

Tony opened the book and turned to the table of contents, scanning the words. When he saw the title of chapter 19 he wanted to throw the book at Nick's head.

STEVE ROGERS: Close Friend or Lover?

Tony looked at Nick again. "Tell me this is a joke."

Nick ignored him, eyes scanning the bottles littering the floor of Tony's room in distaste. "Looks like you've been redecorating."

Tony hurried to chapter 19 and began reading:

Chapter 19

STEVE ROGERS: Close Friend or Lover?

Howard Stark was always known as quite a solitary man, though he went through women like water he rarely was seen out with other men until 1945 when the war ended and he came home with a new friend, Captain Steven Rogers otherwise known as Captain America.

Tony closed his eyes, feeling sick. "I did this," he whispered, then opened his eyes and stared at Nick, "YOU did this. You sent him there!"

Nick leaned down and said coldly. "I gave him the means, but you pushed him off the cliff Stark. Look what you did, thinking you were sending him a life filled with white picket fences and instead he started fucking your DAD."

Tony felt angry tears leak down his cheeks. "He…I told him…how could he…my DAD!"

Nick slapped him, surprising the hell out of Tony who fell back again staring at the man in shock.

Nick picked up another book, pointing to the cover picture. "LOOK AT YOUR FATHER TONY! See any RESEMBLANCE?"

Tony paled, scrambling off the bed and running into the bathroom where he threw up.

Nick threw the book down on the bed and said loudly, "I hope you're happy, Stark! Because I'm sure Steve and Howard are!"

Tony retched again and then looked up, saying, "I want to go there."

Nick smiled. "No."

Tony stood on steady legs, stomping over to Nick and tried to hit him. This time, Nick let him, then laughed. Tony whispered, "I have to fix this, Nick. Please."

Nick shook his head. "Not until you've talked to someone."

Tony paled, swallowing. "Bucky."

Nick grinned. "Yep."

Tony too a deep breath and nodded. "Okay."

"Also…you have to answer to Natasha, Stark. You thought she was angry at Steve for leaving you before? You won't believe how angry she is at YOU now."

Tony ran a hand through his hair. "Okay."

Nick clapped him on the back and turned to leave, stopping and looking over his shoulder. "I'd say bring your armor, but I'm not sure even that will save you this time."

Natasha Romanov had been raised as a lady, an assassin, but above all she had been raised to protect herself. When she saw Nicholas Fury walk into the mansion with Tony Stark she immediately tensed, feeling her daughter kick at her belly and couldn't move.

Instantly she remembered holding James under the moonlight, kissing his face and whispering sweet words in his ear telling him how much she loved him even as she knew nothing she said could fix things.

She swallowed her pride and walked towards the men, her head held high and trying not to wish for James. "Hello Nicholas. Mister Stark."

Tony looked up at her, his eyes making her gasp. He looked broken. There was a faint bruise on his jaw where she suspected Steve had hit him, and he'd lost a lot of weight since she'd last seen him. Natasha wanted nothing more than to hug him but held herself back.

Nick nodded at her. "Tony is here because he wants to go get Steve."

Natasha's eyes narrowed and she wanted to laugh. "I think I can guess why."

Tony coughed, suddenly whispering, "I made a mistake, 'tasha."

She felt her heart break at the sound in his voice but remained calm. "Steve obviously has no need of you, Stark. I don't see why you need my permission."

Tony swallowed. "I…I want to apologize. I…"

"What is HE doing here?" James asked from her left, interrupting them.

Natasha looked at James, taking his hand. "Stark is here to ask permission to go after Steve."

James looked at Tony and Nick. "I don't want to speak to either of you bastards right now," he practically snarled, leading her passed them.

"Bucky," Tony whispered, stopping them.

James turned said coldly, "You do NOT call me that. My FRIENDS call me that and YOU are not and have never BEEN my friend."

With that they were gone, Natasha looking back at Tony who mouthed, "I'm sorry."

"James, wait."

James looked at her, disbelief evident on his face. "Don't even tell me you're buying his puppy dog act," he said, pointing at Tony, "He broke Steve, lapochka. I SAW IT. I have never and will never see my friend broken like that again. Not by this bastard and definitely not TWICE."

She put her hands on his face and whispered close to his ear, "He loves him, James."

He looked at her, taking the hand he was still holding and kissing it. "LOVES him?," he looked at Tony, "You love Steve, Stark?"

Tony swallowed. "B…James. I…love him. I…I wanted him back where he belongs, I didn't…I don't…I never will deserve him. I just…I had to break him to make him leave."

James did as she expected him to at that.

He punched Tony as hard as he could.

Tony did just as she expected him to do, and took it without falling. He rubbed his eye, wincing. "I deserved that."

Natasha felt tears in her eyes. "Steve ran away from you, Stark. What makes you think you even can bring him back?"

Tony winced when she said his name that way and she again felt a pain of sympathy for him.

"I don't know, but I want to try," he said simply.

James exchanged a look with her and said simply, "Then what are doing standing here?"

The smile that broke over Tony's face made her cry then and she couldn't stop herself from hugging her friend, kissing his cheek. "Oh my Tony, I missed you so," she whispered.

He hugged her back as tight as he could and whispered, "I missed you too, 'tasha."

Steve Rogers woke up with a pain in his neck and winced, rubbing it.

He'd been back in 1943 for a little over two weeks now and still everything felt just as he expected.

Completely and totally wrong.

Walking across from his barracks to the colonel's tent he passed by Peggy who smiled at him and he felt obligated to smile back. He wished he could have felt even an ounce of the feeling he'd felt for her before but looking at her now was like looking at a memory.

None of this felt real.

He stood at attention and saluted his superior Colonel Phillips. "Sir, you asked for me?"

"At ease, soldier. Sit, Rogers."

Steve did as he was told, the soldier role a very easy one to fall back into after so long.

"I have read your recollection of your whereabouts the past few months and now I want to hear the truth from you."

Steve swallowed. "Sir, as I have said, I was captured and…"

The Colonel smiled. "Let's not kid ourselves son. There's no way you could've walked from wherever you were "captured" to here. Tell me the goddamn truth, even if it's about an alien beaming you down from planet Krypton."

Steve wanted to smile but stopped himself. "Only Superman comes from Krypton, sir. I believe I came here from Neptune."

The Colonel raised an eyebrow. "Gonna be a smart ass now too?"

Steve cleared his throat. "It wasn't an alien, sir. It wasn't…entirely as I've said either. I…had help. That's all I'm at liberty to say."

Colonel Phillips looked at him squarely and said, "As I've said, soldier, I know you're a good man and I believe you as much as I can believe a bullshit story like that. But next time you're gonna disappear like that, please have the courtesy to lie better."

Steve smiled. "Yes, sir. Is that all, sir? I…have an…important meeting to get to."

The other man smiled. "Yes, of course. Tell Agent Carter I said hello."

Steve blushed, not bothering to lie again and left without a word heading in the opposite direction Peggy had gone and headed straight to Howard Stark's laboratory. He knocked on the door and when he heard the other man's familiar, "Come in, Rogers," he did just that.

Howard looked at him in amusement. "Finished with your scolding, my friend?"

Steve nodded, walking over to where the other man stood making something he could only guess was a variant on his own shield but smaller. "Scolding? Oh, yeah. He just wanted to tell me he knew I was making it up but couldn't call me on it."

Howard laughed and Steve felt just a bit warmer inside.

He reminded Steve so much of Tony it was almost unbearable to be around him but he couldn't keep himself way. "Bullshit sells, my friend, and your story about the magic time traveling portal will only get you a trip to the nut house. Not the accommodations you want."

Steve smiled and sat down, watching the genius at work.

He tried to tell himself it was just because he missed the future, that he wanted something familiar around to make him less homesick but deep down he knew better.

He missed Tony.

The deep, aching hole where Tony had been hurt just thinking about him but he tried to push the thought aside and asked, "What are you working on?"

Before he could answer suddenly there was much commotion and he got up peeking his head out the door.

Howard frowned. "What is it?"

Steve felt something was about to happen and couldn't shake the feeling. "I don't know. I'll go find out."

He ran from Howard's lab and towards the sound of the noise outside. When he got through the doors he stopped, looking around. Everyone was staring at something and he heard someone yelling but tried to move closer though the crowd of soldiers made that harder to do. The yelling became words and when he heard them, Steve nearly fainted.

"Let me go, I'm not a spy! I was just looking for someone, I'm an AMERICAN! Steve! Steve are you here?"

It was Tony's voice. He wasn't hallucinating.

Steve suddenly pushed through and got on the other side of the crowd and directly in front of the source.

Tony was being led by four military police while he struggled in a pair of handcuffs. When Steve appeared he stopped struggling and smiled so brightly Steve's eyes narrowed.

"STEVE! It's you! Tell them! Tell them I know you so they'll…"

Steve walked up to him, looked Tony up and down before punching him in the face declaring, "I've never seen this man before in my life."

A/N: The story for the next long while will only focus on Steve and Tony's adventures in the past because I...got a little carried away. =) I will get back to the other eventually but it will be at least three if not four chapters before that happens.