…Surrogate…

Author's note/Warning: This chapter contains:- cursing, sadness, maybe a little bit of violence, stalking, possessiveness, obsessiveness, darkness, delusional Tony, and poor Steve! All reviews are appreciated.

/Warning/: This is a dark story that takes place in the MCU timeline to some extent, but with many major changes such as Steve Rogers is not Captain America, instead it is Peggy Carter. So, you have been warned!

"Character talking"

"Character thinking"

…Flashbacks…

Chapter 3

"Steve… Steve… Steve…" Tony mumbled over and over again under his breath, biting his thumbnail as his eyes darted around, eyes shining with reverence at the pictures and the videos that graced him with their presence; his heart was thumbing loudly in his chest, almost breaking from its prison and jumping toward the rightful owner and holder of the delicate organ. A shuddered breath left Tony, and he licked his chapped lips when his eyes fell on another video, this time it depicted his Steve's trip years ago as he went hiking with his friends.

"Steve… Stevie… Steven… brother… big brother… Steve…" Tony hummed as a huge grin dominated his face; he let out a small laugh now and then, as many emotions coursed through his body, overwhelming him and leaving him breathless. The pictures of his brother in various positions doing various things flickered on the numerous screens, and Tony watched with rapid attention, like a predatory watching his prey

Tony's blood rushed through his veins, blazing hot as it burned and tingled through its journey; the events that took place hours ago still played inside his mind eye for the thousand times every time he closed his eyes. A happy giggle escaped his lips and he couldn't help but spin his chair, his lungs expanding and breathing in air, for what felt like the first time in decades.

"Steve… Steve… Steve… Steve, Steve, Steve, Steve, Steve!" Tony laughed, the happy sound traveled all over his workshop, his mind conjuring his Steve's expression throughout the day; his heart fluttering happily as he remembered his Steve's smiles, his laughs, his furrowed brows, and amused looks. He remembered the way his Steve ate his lunch in small delicate bites and the way he sipped his beverage, looking all regale and proper like a king on a throne.

"Ah… he talked to me…" Tony giggled giddily like a child given a treat, leaning his head back, he stopped his chair from spinning, a huge smile on his face at the sight of his brother mid-laugh, looking directly at the camera… directly at Tony… "Ah… I missed you…" Tony said, leaning to touch the hologram gently, his fingers gracing Steve's cheek… "I wish I could have brought you home…" Tony mumbled, letting out a sigh, as he leaned back, a happy smile on his face as he studied the light of his life.

Hours ago, Tony had returned from his lunch date with his brother, feeling like he was on cloud nine; an hour he spent with his Steve turned into two, and then three, all the while they ate and talked and argued about this and that. By the end, Tony felt like he had ascended into heaven, almost following his brother and trailing after him like a lamb following its mother… to think that after all these years, he was finally blessed by the sight of his brother, standing near him, talking to him… touching him… Tony was almost sure his heart had given up at one point or another of their lovely meeting.

Another ding, made Tony tilt his head to the side, amusement coloring his eyes as his sight fell on another story published; another gossip about him. The pictures of him sitting with his brother, conversing with him, blasted on every social media out there, making Tony's heart flutter happily as he took his brother in.

Ignoring the titles about 'Tony Stark's new lover?' and the like; Tony could only let out a happy sigh when his eyes took in the amusement and happiness shining in his beloved eyes, all put leaning on the hologram as happiness took hold of his heart and squeezed.

Ah… his brother was so adorable…

"Sir, Mrs. Carter is on the phone."

The A.I. suddenly piped up, causing Tony to snap out of his reverence stare and frown harshly, his face twisted as he wondered why the woman would call him when she knew she was not welcome to do so, not after the mess with Stane followed by the bigger mess of Natalia Rushman. "Is that so… connect the call, J…" Tony ordered his face twisting into a hateful scowl that depended as he heard the woman's voice on the other line.

"Hello, darling…"

Hearing this, Tony bristled as he heard the woman who was once an aunt call him this; she had no right to call him this, not after all these years when she failed to find and help his brother. "Hello, Cap… why did you call?" Tony called out, gritting his teeth to stop himself from cursing and insulting the woman and tipping her off; his cold and harsh tone seemed to resign as the woman let out a tired sigh like she thought that Tony was still angry and having a tantrum like a child that will go away after some time… still delusional than ever, if the silent treatment for the past few years still hadn't registered.

"…I just wanted to know about my nephew's health, is that wrong?"

Tony ground his teeth and almost bit his tongue clean off when he heard those words; as if! That woman was not a family! Not when she failed over and over again, not being able to find his brother, not being able to protect Tony and his family's legacy, and letting Stane destroy his family's name; her inadequacy almost cost Tony and his brother their lives! "I am fine, what do you want?" Tony snipped, causing the line to go silent for a long time before another sigh was heard.

"The man in the photo… who was he?"

Peggy Carter finally asked, leaving behind the pleasantry she tried to spoon-feed him but was unable to due to Tony's untrusting nature. "… you have no right to ask…" Tony finally said after what felt like decades of silence, the anger simmering under the surface at the audacity Peggy Carter had for calling him to ask about his beloved! As if she had any right to ask about his Steve when the woman subjected him to a fate worse than death!

"I… I just wanted to check on you… he… the man looked… he…"

Peggy Carter said a few times, only to cut her sentence in the middle, not being able to form the right response without bringing pain that was better left behind. "I don't need you to check on me; I am fine, I can get by on my own," Tony stated, narrowing his eyes as he clenched his hands into tight fists. "What did you really call me for; please, cut the bullshit Cap, I have no time for pleasantries." Tony hissed, finally getting fed up as he ordered the woman to talk; there was a silence that remained for a long time, so long that Tony thought Peggy Carter closed her phone and turned away, but the tired sigh from the other line was heard and Tony bristled.

"Come to S.H.I.E.L.D. tomorrow I will explain the situation… goodbye."

Peggy Carter ordered him gently before clicking her phone off, causing Tony to roll his eyes and all but throw everything in front of him at the walls, grumbling to himself about backstabbers before he leaned on his chair, eyes tired and gaze distant like he was trying to see beyond the walls… to think that after all these years, the two of them would fall apart in the worst way possible; but what can Tony say, it was all Peggy Carter's fault for being nothing but a failure… a failure of an aunt who didn't stop her best friends from abusing their youngest son; a failure of a protector who allowed his family to be killed and for his brother to be kidnapped… a failure of a friend who let Tony spiral and allowed Stane to mislead him and almost kill him… a failure of a leader who dug her grave by her own hands… just a failure in general…

Without further thought; Tony returned to watching his Steve…

"You met the Tony Stark?!" A shriek was heard and Steve was all but squashed by his friend who squealed and barrel into him, almost knocking Steve who was holding the tray of snacks. "Oh, my God! How did you do that?!" The woman all but shook Steve back and forth as she ordered him to spill the beans causing Steve to snort and break free from her claws-like gripe to set the tray down.

"It was a coincidence," Steve said, sitting beside Bucky who gave him an incredulous look before stealing a popcorn bowl with an eye roll. "I accidentally spilled coffee on him, and instead of being an asshole about it, he was nice," Steve explained, gaining slow blinks and disbelieving looks from his friends who gathered around him.

"Stevie, darling, dear, the love of my life, and my clueless BFF…" Bucky stated, throwing his arms around Steve and ignoring the huff Steve let out as he righted himself or he would end up on the floor with Bucky's additional weight. "…You do realize that what the two of you experienced today was nothing short of a Coffee Shop Meet-Cute moment that every romantic soul would die for?" Bucky asked, fluttering his eyelashes, and making Steve let out another snort as he pushed his friend's face away, trying to ignore May's giggling in the background as she took a seat beside her husband.

"Yes, a romantic moment that was the talk of the country! Did you not see? Even the news talks about this and not just Twitter!" That was Sam who came holding the drinks, giving one to his husband before setting the tray on the table for everyone else.

"I think it was cute…" That was Riley who took a small sip of his drink, an amused smile on his face as he scrolled through his phone, before showing everyone else the picture. "Meet the new Mr. Stark everyone!" Riley cheered as everyone cooed at the picture of Steve sitting beside Tony Stark, with a small smile that lit his whole face. "Our Stevie is even giving Tony Stark the indulging smile and amused look like he was one of his students!" Riley cooed, his words summoning a snort and a laugh from Ben who stuffed his face with candies.

"I don't know man, look at how Tony Stark is giving my Stevie the heart eyes; the man is far too gone, look at this picture and tell me this isn't the look of a devoted husband!" Bucky exclaimed, letting go of Steve and fishing his phone to show everyone the picture, gaining hums and appreciating murmurs.

"Alright, alright, stop with this nonsense; we just had a coffee and a talk, nothing more!" Steve said, throwing popcorn at Bucky and the friends who betrayed him and giggled at his misery; who would have thought! Betrayed by his own friends! He never imagined that a small and unexpected coffee meeting would be thrown out of proportion and have his friends call him and invade his house asking for details.

"Nothing more he says! Just a coffee and a talk he says! Steve! Tony Stark was never seen going in public for years, not after becoming Iron Man and even before that! For him to be seen in a public coffee shop with someone is a big deal!" May exclaimed, taking some candies from her husband and munching on them happily. "Did you at least secure a sponsorship or something? Oh, please tell me you did!" May whined, but her complaints were met by popcorn thrown her way and an annoyed Steve who gave her an unimpressed look.

"Stevie, sweetie, pumpkin, my lovely meow-meow." Bucky started again only to get his foot stepped on by Steve who gave him an annoyed look at the pet names that kept on coming, but as always, Bucky didn't care and continued on, heedless of the laughs their friends were letting out as they watched the show. "Why don't you make my day by telling me that you dumped that useless ass of a boyfriend and shackled up with Tony Stark? Please tell this poor old man some happy news!" Bucky whined, and a huge pout took over his face as he widened his eyes hoping to gain sympathy.

"Yeah… at least tell us that you left that asshole…" Ben said, finally speaking up for the first time since their friends all but invaded his home and held him hostage in this get-together. "I don't care if you banged the Stark scion or whatever those delusional romantics are planning, but seriously, Barnes is right, did you leave that asshole?" Ben questioned, his words making Steve shift uncomfortably and look away, causing his friends to groan in annoyance.

"That's rude…" Steve mumbled, stuffing his face with popcorn in the hope of taking his attention away from his friends' words, even if their words hurt a little; the tired sigh from Bucky made Steve shift and through his friend a harsh look that was ignored as usual.

"What's rude is your boyfriend to ignore you for weeks without giving a reason or even calling," Bucky stated, a harsh scowl on his face as he took a swing of his drink, grumbling something about assholes and the likes. "Two years and you think he will be respectful enough to leave a massage before he vanishes into thin air." The annoyance was clear on his best friend's face, making Steve shift once more

"Bucky…" Steve started before his words trailed off not knowing what to say to make his friends feel better, especially considering that this was the tenth time this week that his friends started this conversation, more and more incensed as this farce with Rumlow continued on and the man ignored him day in and day out.

"What? You know I am right, Stevie…" Bucky mumbled, letting out a tired sigh before he laid his head on Steve's lap, a huge pout dominating his face as he puffed his cheeks, looking more like a puffer fish that was aggravated. "Anyway! Tell me all about that date with the hot rich guy, what did you talk about? What did he say? Are you meeting again?" Bucky changed the subject, no doubt knowing how the mood was ruined by mentioning Rumlow; Steve being grateful for the change, let his shoulders drop in relief as he talked with his friends about his experience with meeting Tony Stark…

He couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, though…

Anger would be the lightest to describe what Tony was feeling as he sat on his chair, glaring harshly at Peggy Carter and the people in the room, waiting for them to tell him what he had experienced in the past few hours was a joke they all planned. Peggy Carter, her spies, some of her agents, and Bruce Banner all sitting in the meeting room; most of them looking chill as ice, while a few were sweating bullets as they were subjected to Tony's death glare.

"So… let me get this straight… you decided to form a… a superheroes club? A club I was not informed of but was added into without my input? And in addition to that, you wanted me to house you in my own home and make my tower the H.Q.?" Tony said slowly, his words dripping with venom as anger took hold of him, it was only years of controlling his impulses so as to not appear suspicious that stopped him from blasting this place… the nerve! To demand that he open his home to complete strangers in the name of being teammates! Teammates, he never agreed to have! "Nope! Hell to the no! No, nada, yada!" Tony spat, standing up and all but storming away if it wasn't for Peggy Carter holding him back.

"Tony, please…" Peggy said gently, her voice was that of an overtired mother who was talking to their child who was throwing a tantrum; an action that made him bristle like a cat as he all but pulled his hand away, glaring at the woman with hate burning deep in his eyes, making the woman purse her lips.

"Don't you dare, 'Tony' me, Cap…" Tony hissed, feeling like he was a step away from murder; to think that all of this happened right after Tony met his brother… if he wasn't suspicious before, then he sure as hell is now! "Being added to a club without my input is one thing, but being forced to open my home to strangers is another matter entirely. Don't try to play this down, Cap, I am not in the mood; especially, when I am facing another Natalia Rushman's situation." Tony spat, his words making Peggy Carter and Natasha Romanov flinch. "But I don't mind you know? If you desperately wanted a place for your secret club to stay, I can offer you the upstate New York mansion, I am sure it would be to your liking, it just needs redecoration and good scrubbing is all!" Tony cheered, his words bringing forth a suffocating silence as everyone shifted uncomfortably, looking at the ground and shifting away; Peggy Carter paled, taking a deep breath and pressing her lips into a tight line.

For a long time, no one dared to open their mouth and talk; too stunned and uncomfortable by Tony offering them the mansion where his family was slaughtered, no doubt thinking that he finally lost it. "There is no need, Tony… I am sure we will manage something out." Peggy Carter finally said, her voice low as to stop it from cracking, an uncomfortable smile crossing over her lips.

"Then… if this is all, I will take my leave…" Tony said after a while, taking his leave and ignoring the whispers that all but exploded as he left the room, his anger was raging like the fire of hell at being forced to hear the nonsense they tried to feed him for the past hours.

Reaching the elevator, Tony leaned on the wall as he pressed the ground floor, grumbling to himself as he opened his phone and went to the gallery, relaxing almost instantly when his eyes fell on the picture of his sweet, sweet, Steve. To think that Peggy Carter would be as bold as to ask him to open his tower to her fan club in the name of being one of the founders. As if! There is no one allowed in his home, no matter who they were; Tony hadn't spent weeks modeling the place to his brother's liking to have Peggy Carter waltzed into his home and demand a place in it, not after what that woman did to his family.

It wasn't long before Tony reached the ground floor, where he all but marched into his car and hightailed it out of this wretched place; it was the sound of moaning that made him pause, and he stood still for a second, narrowing his eyes before he took his phone once more, hacking into the cameras to see what was taking place…

The sight greeting him made him sneer…

Taking deep breaths, Tony closed his eyes to regain himself, trying to calm down as he opened the door. A hitched breath left his throat at the sight that greeted him, and Tony had to summon all of his willpower to stop himself from running inside the apartment and let loose. Taking another deep breath, Tony went inside, closing the door behind him as he turned his head in every which direction; his eyes wide, as he took everything with reverence shining in his eyes, trying to engrave everything in his mind where it would never be forgotten.

Letting out a sigh, Tony walked deeper into the apartment, his eyes taking in the decoration, the photos, the knickknacks around the place; his fingers trailed over the walls, the tables, and the photos as he tried to memorize the texture to the smallest detail there was.

"Steve… Stevie… brother… are you here?" Tony couldn't help but ask out loud with a smile crossing over his lips and widening until it took over his face; a breathless laugh left his throat as a shuddered sigh left his chest, gazing at the home his brother lived in for years, giving every nook and cranny his full attention like the place was a temple that demanded his all.

With a reverence gaze befitting for gazing at God; Tony took the apartment, his hands touching everything like they were delicate porcelain, eying everything like it came straight out of heaven and he was privileged to be given permission to see.

It took him an hour, maybe two to go through the apartment; the living room, the office, the bathroom, the kitchen, the guest bedroom. Nothing left his inspection and poking; no stone was left unturned as he walked around his beloved home, piecing together the pieces of his brother's life, feeling both overjoyed and despair that he wasn't included in the perfect and happy life his brother lived.

Reaching his Steve's bedroom, Tony had to take deep breaths once more to calm himself down, the thought of him seeing where his beloved rested was too much that he fidgeted in his place. Memories of the past invaded him, reminding him of when he was young and would sneak into his brother's room at night; soaking in his brother's love and taking comfort when everything became too much and the world felt suffocating… ah, how much he had missed his beloved.

"Steve… can I come in? I can't sleep… nightmares…" Tony whispered almost unconsciously as he knocked on the door, holding his breath as the phantom whisper of his name greeted his ears. "I am coming…" Tony called out almost childishly, opening the room with his heart pounding in his throat. A shuddered breath left his lips as he was greeted by the sight of his beloved room.

Mumbling his brother's name, Tony couldn't help but take a few steps inside, gazing around and imprinting everything in his mind; tears gathering in his eyes as he let out a shaky sob… the room was almost identical to the one his beloved had in their mansion.

"Ah… so you didn't forget me completely… Steve… Steve… Stevie, where are you?" Tony called out, sniffling like a small child as he wiped the tears away, shuddering slightly as he tried to gather himself and not cry like the small child he felt inside. A few sniffles followed before Tony managed to control himself as entered the room, going directly to the bed before gently sitting on the side his brother always preferred.

Hands touching the sheets gently, Tony let out a content sigh as he lay down on the bed, gazing at the ceiling, deep in thought, his heart pounding happily in his chest as he was surrounded by his brother's scent. If Tony closed his eyes, he was sure that he would wake up thirty years in the past, in his brother's old room, surrounded by his brother's scent and being held in gentle arms that never harmed him or touched him with malice…

Just a while longer… soon… his brother would be back home…

…

Just thought this is something you should see…

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So, what do you think?

Finally! An update!

A tame one considering what's planned for the next chapter.

Poor Steve, he is not going to have happy times from now on.

Enjoy and Happy Early Halloween!

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And tell me what you think…

Nazaki-Sama