When his son walked into his lab Howard didn't say a word when he began setting up his cot in the back room. After several minutes and many curse words Howard walked up behind Tony, watching silently as the other man struggled.

"Need help?"

Tony looked at him and nodded.

Howard unfolded the bed and sighed. "I know I'm obviously not your father, at least not yet, but I know how it feels to want something you can't have. Don't let it burn you out. I've been around Steve the weeks before you arrived and he may seem distressed, kid, but he's happy you're here."

Tony shook his head. "Not so sure about that," he whispered, climbing on the bed and pulling the thin sheet over himself.

It was only late afternoon but he left his son to his privacy, closing the door and walking into his lab knowing now that Tony had sent Agent Carter his way not minutes earlier.

He smiled, returning to his current project.

On the other side of the door Tony Stark stared into darkness and tried to curb the feeling of sex that had his body on fire. He could almost smell Steve in the room, remembering the last time they'd had sex with such vivid imagery that he suddenly felt like crying.

They had just finished the mission with the HYDRA agents and were covered in bruises, cuts, and he'd pulled the blonde into the shower, marking up Steve's throat even though he knew the mark would be gone before he could really appreciate it.

Steve had moaned under his touch and he bit his lip in the present, feeling his body hardening. He refused to touch himself with his father in the room not too far from him. Instead he brought up another image.

Peggy Carter with her tongue down Steve's throat and her hand up his shirt, moaning and writhing with such abandon that Tony had realized that maybe he had some competition after all. Steve had been kissing her back with the same passion and he'd felt sick, but instead had only cleared his throat to get them to stop.

Now they could do whatever they wanted in that tent and he wouldn't be able to do anything but wait out the next few weeks.

At that thought he cursed, sitting up and standing up, pulling on his shoes before throwing open the door in front of him.

Howard looked up at the noise and said nothing as Tony stormed out of the lab.

Steve watched the sun setting in the sky with a deep sadness, missing home more than ever. He remembered nights when he and Tony would sit out on the balcony and do that very thing, laughing about something stupid.

He stood against the back of his tent and sighed loudly.

"Do you love her?" came the whispered question from his left and he jumped, surprised.

"Tony, I thought…look, it's not…" he stalled, looking around to see if the other soldiers noticed them but no one seemed to.

Tony touched his arm, lightly running his fingers up and down Steve's skin.

Steve shivered as Tony whispered, "When you left, after I…said…"

Steve pulled his arm away, holding it close to his chest. "When you said that you only seduced me and I was a stupid, naïve virgin who didn't know any better? When you said THAT?" he whispered.

Tony paled. "Steve, I wanted to hurt you."

"Mission accomplished," Steve whispered, moving to walk away.

Tony grabbed his arm again and said, "I wanted you to hate me, to feel like you had no other choice but to leave."

Steve pulled his arm away and said, "Well that's exactly how I felt, Tony, so you did a damn good job," walking around the tent and inside.

Tony followed him inside and Steve didn't turn, keeping his back to him. "I love you," Tony said simply, not waiting for a reply, "I will keep on fucking loving you, even if you decide to get married to Peggy, or start on with my Dad. I just wanted you to know that."

With that he was gone again and Steve turned to look at his back as he left.

Tony walked out of the tent and kept walking right on by the soldiers he passed, ignoring the strange looks he was getting. He'd been in this timeline for a day and was ready to throw in the towel and just wait out the remaining weeks. He almost walked into the woods when a hand on his arm stopped him.

He turned and stepped back in surprise at the person in front of him.

Nick.

The man looked exactly the same though he was wearing fatigues instead of his usual black ensemble. "Don't know if you should do that," he said simply.

Tony swallowed. "Why?"

Nick smiled then. "Because I know Steve will be unhappy if you get blown into a billion pieces, though honestly I couldn't care less."

Tony walked up to him and asked, "How do you know anything about me?"

Nick put his hand on Tony's chest and said, "I recognize a man outta time when I see one. I've seen all kinds of crazy shit in my time, Stark, and I know you don't belong here anymore than Rogers does."

Tony looked at the hand on his chest and said, "Who are you? How do you seem to know everything even when you know nothing? It's so ridiculous I can't…"

Nick shut him up then, putting his hand over Tony's mouth. "I would say it's safe to assume you and I are acquainted in your time, am I right? All I can say is I know things no man needs to know, but choose to remain fighting for my country. Anything is of no importance to you. Now go back to where your boyfriend is and quit trying to run."

He took his hand away and Tony did exactly that, though he walked right on by Steve's tent and back inside the building to where his father was still working. It was nearly eight o'clock now and he hadn't eaten since he'd arrived.

"Um…Howard?" he asked.

The younger man looked at him, smiled, and gestured to his left.

Tony nearly hugged him at the pile of food laid out. He started to eat and Howard laughed. "Hungry?"

He nodded and asked around a mouthful, "What are you working on?"

Howard shook his head. "I'll show you when it's done. How'd it go with Steve?"

Tony raised an eyebrow.

His father sat down beside him and sighed. "Sorry, I'd try to give you pointers but I've never been interested in cock before so I wouldn't know how to go about it."

Tony nearly choked then and Howard handed him a glass, which he quickly drank from.

"But I can tell you that nothing works better than apologizing, begging, and then gifts," Howard said matter-of-factly, "I've always been a good gift giver."

Tony wanted to disagree, remembering his ninth birthday when his father threw him a pile of crumpled hundreds and said, "Get something."

Or his seventeenth when his father hadn't even remembered or bothered to come to his graduation.

Instead he just swallowed the water and said, "Steve isn't very into material things, he…he's not big into getting gifts."

Howard looked at him oddly; stroking his mustache like Tony had seen his father do millions of times growing up. Suddenly he felt a lump in his throat and looked away.

"Huh. Then I guess the next best thing is making them jealous. The ladies respond well to that."

Tony shook his head. "I won't…this isn't a game I'm trying to win. I just want him. I don't want to manipulate him."

Howard shrugged. "Well then I'm all out of ideas. I've never been real big on love," he said, smiling at Tony, "But since you're around I would guess that must change eventually."

Tony wanted to say that his parents had never seemed very much in love cheating on each other and fighting regularly up until they were killed in the car crash, leaving Tony to mourn alone. Instead he just smiled and said, "Obviously."

Howard slapped him on the back and said, "I hope it works out, kid, I really do. I like Steve, he's a good guy."

Tony's eyes narrowed. "You say you've never been into men?"

Howard shook his head. "Nope. Knew some fellas in college though, got married and still secretly see each other on the side. Kent and Wayne, I think? Can't remember their first names."

"You lied about sleeping with Steve," Tony said simply.

Howard grinned. "Of course I did. Never would have dreamed of it, kid, though he is a handsome fella I can admit that since you're a fairy anyway."

Tony glared. "I'm not a…" he sighed loudly, "Promise me even if I leave and Steve stays, you won't start up with him."

Howard stared at him seriously, his gaze unwavering. "I promise, kid."

Tony nodded. "Good. Now I'm going to bed," he said tiredly, standing and heading for the supply closet where his bed was laid out.

Howard yelled at his back, "It's only 9:30!"

Tony didn't answer back and closed the door behind himself, flipping off the light.

The next ten days went by with both Steve and Tony avoiding each other.

Tony hid in the lab with Howard, helping him on some military projects and beginning others like shields for the soldiers that could withstand fire and they hoped more, though with the limited supplies both men were only guessing.

The Colonel didn't see the military need in the shields, though Tony pointed out how well Steve's was in combat for him and by the end of the week every soldier took them out on reconnaissance missions.

Steve led several of the missions himself, feeling somewhat comforted to see Tony's shields fighting alongside his own though he never saw the man again until March was coming to an end and one morning he spotted Tony standing with his father drinking what looked like coffee and talking to a group of USO dancing girls that had invaded the camp the night before.

Familiar jealousy inflamed him and he felt his stomach knotting as he watched one of the dancers, a blonde haired blue eyed beauty, smile and lean on Tony's arm before trying to pull him away from the crowd.

Steve stood in front of his own tent, his hands at his sides and his mouth a hard line. He bit his tongue so hard he drew blood and when Peggy tapped him on the shoulder he nearly took her head off whipping his head around.

She frowned. "Steve, I…I think we need to talk," she whispered, her eyes sad.

Steve ran a hand over his face and said, "Actually I'm just about to…"

Peggy grabbed his arm and said, "You've been lost the last few weeks, I'm worried about you."

He looked over her head and saw that Tony and the girl in question seemed to have disappeared. "Look Peggy, I'm fine. I just…things have been strange and it's very…"

She grabbed his head and pulled him down into a kiss, surprising him by her boldness. Steve barely kissed her back and she pulled away just as quickly, tears in her eyes.

"There's someone else, isn't there?" she whispered.

He looked away and she touched his face, smiling. "I want you to happy, Steve, really I do. Just tell me."

Steve looked down at Peggy, her face full of sadness but also love, and then his eyes drifted across the road seeing that Tony was still missing. He looked at her again, taking the hand she'd had on his face and kissing it. "I'm sorry."

Her eyes shone with tears and she nodded mutely, turning and leaving him to stare after her.

His eyes couldn't help but drift over again to where Howard Stark was currently dealing with three very attractive dancers and couldn't stop himself from walking towards them.

Howard looked up as he got closer, his eyes wide and darting to the left of the stage before they landed on Steve again. He detangled himself from his harem and headed in Steve's way. "Hey my friend, long time no see!"

Steve put a hand on his shoulder. "Howard. Where's Tony?"

The younger man swallowed. "Hey…um…"

Steve moved him aside, going behind the curtain and stepping backstage. The anger and jealousy coursed through every fiber of his being, ready to attack. When he rounded the corner the scene he witnessed was very different than he had expected.

Tony and the woman were sitting across from each other at a small table playing of all things checkers. The woman was frowning, her hand in Tony's as he spoke.

"It's so hard, I can't…I can't stop thinking about him."

The woman sighed. "Oh you poor thing! My cousin Billy is a queer and he tells me all the time how hard it is to hide when he wants to be with someone and for you to be so in love, only to lose it! Oh poor baby!"

Steve hid with his back to them but he could hear the conversation perfectly.

"I just want him to forgive me, that's it. Even if we're never together again I just want to know he doesn't hate me."

He heard the woman make more sympathetic sounds and he closed his eyes, the tension that had been building in his body suddenly gone in an instant.

"If you weren't a queer, I'd be all over you in a second honey buns!"

Tony laughed and Steve bit his tongue to keep from making a sound.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Brenda. But I know Howard would be more than willing to take my place if you're interested."

Brenda squeaked and said, "Really? He's so adorable, isn't he? And rich too! Are you rich? You're his brother, of course you are!"

Steve hurried back out from behind the stage, practically running towards the exit. When he came out Howard grabbed his arm. "Steve, it's not…"

He pushed the man away and went back to his tent.

Tony came out some minutes later, releasing Brenda towards Howard who looked panic stricken. "What's wrong?" Tony asked, frowning.

Howard looked at him. "He didn't find you two…together?" he asked.

Tony raised an eyebrow. "He…who?"

His father let out a breath and said, "Steve. He ran back there like he was gonna kill you or something and then ran back out just as fast! I've never seen him look so angry."

Tony looked towards Steve's tent, then at Brenda.

"Kid, you okay?"

Tony smiled, nodding. "Yeah, Howard I'm fine," he raised his coffee cup, which actually did contain coffee and clinked it together with his father's. "Cheers."

Howard laughed. "You look like you're about to open your favorite present on Christmas morning."

Tony grinned. "You have no idea what an astute analogy you just used."

He finished his coffee with a flourish and took a deep breath, letting the air out slowly before turning to wink at Brenda. "Wish me luck, honey."

She waved. "Good luck!"

Tony began casually walking across the road towards Steve's tent when suddenly he heard a loud crash and then the world exploded around him.

The last thing he saw was Steve running towards him and everything went black.