Narrator's POV

"Hah..." Tony said as he stepped up his front door. He took out his key and opened it. "Steve, I'm home." He said.

"Welcome back." Steve said.

"Yeah. I just went out for a walk and I-" Tony stopped when he turned to Steve and saw Bucky with him.

The two were sitting at the kitchen counter enjoying some cheese and crackers.

"You're still here." Tony said, laying eyes on Bucky.

"Yeah, I offered him to stay the night. I hope that's not asking too much." Steve said, pouring Bucky a glass of water.

"Thanks Steve." Bucky said.

"Of course not." Tony was red in the face, not only with jealousy, but with anger too. "Heck, he can have our bed for all I care." Tony said.

Bucky had basically already replaced him.

"That's nice." Steve said.

"If you excuse me, I'll be in the shop." Tony said.

"Alright." Steve said.

Tony looked back at Steve, who was laughing with Bucky.

Steve looked so happy with him.

Maybe it was time Tony did something about it.

///0///0

"Well, you're back early." Came Pepper's voice as she made her way downstairs with a clipboard.

Tony didn't say anything.

"Let me guess. Dr. Strange wasn't that delighted to see you, was he?" Pepper asked.

"We had a fight." Tony said as he broke open a part of his chest plate.

"A fight." Pepper said. "Mind telling me how that went?" She said, handing Tony a hammer.

Tony took the hammer and pounded on the chest plate. "He's so..." He pounded on it again. "...stubborn." He said.

"Oh." Pepper listened.

"He's like a child. He didn't want to talk to me and locked me out of his house. Then he made short jokes. He didn't listen to a single word I had to said." Tony said.

"Sounds like someone I know." Pepper said.

"I was just trying to apologize." Tony said. "And what does he say?"

"I don't know."

"Go jump in front of the New York traffic." He said.

"Ouch." Pepper said. "It really must've hurt then."

"I didn't mean it." Tony said, climbing on his desk.

"Tony you flirted with Dr. Strange." Pepper said.

"I flirted at him." Tony said, standing on his desk and looking down at Pepper. "It's not my fault he fell for that. And now, I'm losing my boyfriend to a long time ago bully of mine." Tony said, throwing the hammer somewhere. "Hmph." He sat down on the desk.

Pepper walked closer to him.

"Are you done having your tantrum?" She asked.

"He's so difficult, Pepper." Tony fell back on his desk.

///0///0

"And then...he left!" Stephen said as he paced back and forth blabbing about the fight Tony and he had had earlier in front of Wong's astral projection.

"Mm." Wong said. He really wasn't all that interested to the story, he just liked seeing Stephen as his "not so nurturing/friendly" self.

"Can you believe his nerve?" Stephen asked. "First, he flirts with me like it's no big deal. Gets me all gooie, ooie. Then we go out a few times, which makes me fall even harder, and when I'm ready to tell him how I feel, Steve shows up." Stephen said. "I bought him a very expensive bouquet. It was fifty three dollars."

"Oh. That's quite expensive." Wong said.

"I know. Then when I'm grieving him, he shows up at my doorstep, expecting to be forgiven just like that." Stephen said.

"What did you do with the flowers?" Wong asked.

"That's how-" Stephen stopped in his tracks. "Oh, I put them down the garbage disposal." Stephen said.

"All of them?" Wong asked.

"Yeah." Stephen nodded.

"They all fit?"

"Well, it took a little while for some of them to go down, but yeah. They all went in eventually." Stephen explained. "Wait, that's not the point!"

"Well, it was working." Wong said.

"I'm trying to rant to you about my problems." Stephen said.

///0///0

"Pepper, can I have your opinion on something?" Tony asked as he laid across his desk.

"Go ahead." Pepper said, sitting in the chair at the desk, with a pencil and paper.

"What would you do if someone you really loved came back into your life after disappearing for a really long time?" Tony asked.

"I would run up to hug them." Pepper said.

"Yeah, but like they were really, really close to you." Tony said.

"Tell them how much I missed them, and hold them." Pepper said.

"Would you try to get close to them again?" Tony asked.

"What do you mean?" Pepper asked.

"Like, you start remembering all the good times you had together, then you sort off start missing being that close to them because...you know, you've obviously lost touch and-I'm sorry. Are you doodling right now?" Tony asked, sitting up and looking down at the paper Pepper was writing on.

"Uh...yeah. Sorry." She apologized.

"It's okay. It doesn't matter." Tony sighed, shaking his head.

"You know, Tony." Pepper started. "It kinda seems like you still have feelings for Dr. Strange." Pepper said.

Tony staid quiet for a few seconds, he gripped the sides of the desk and bit his lip. "Yeah..." He sighed. "Seems that way, doesn't it?"

///0///0

>knock< >knock<

"Steve..." Tony said, opening the door to Steve's room.

Steve was folding his shirts and putting them away in his drawers.

"Oh, come in." He said.

"Thanks." Tony said. "Laundry, huh?"

"Yeah. I had quite a bit from the trip." Steve said, smiling.

"I can see that." Tony laughed a little.

It was quiet for a moment.

"Listen Steve." Tony began.

Steve listened.

"I know in the past, you and James had some sort of history." Tony said.

"Tony, don't-"

"And I can see that you two still like each other very much." Tony said. "After all, he did disappeared from your life just like that. He probably left you lonely and heartbroken."

Steve sighed. "Yeah...he did."

"And this evening probably brought back good memories and feelings back, hm?" Tony asked.

"Yeah." Steve scoffed. "It did. It really did."

"Look, Steve." Tony said. "I want you to do what's best for you." He said, walking closer to Steve. "If it's James that you want, go ahead."

"Tony..." Steve said.

"It's okay. I'll be okay." Tony said. "I know how that goes." He gave Steve a smile.

Steve gave Tony a soft smile. "I will miss you." He said, caressing Tony's cheek.

"Hm." Tony smiled. "Go be happy."

They embraced each other for the last time