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Breaths of exhaustion slipped through Steve’s mouth. His gaze scanned the horizon, seeing the aftermath of the battle. Bright fires and bodies of fallen soldiers litter the battlefield, but his mind was focused on one thing. As the army of Thanos slowly disintegrated into dust, he smiled and managed to slip a light laugh through his lips.
‘They won’, Steve cheered.
He scanned the horizon again, the silence of the battlefield was deafening to his ears. The shine of red and gold caught his gaze, and his heart immediately froze. The smile that graced his lips now contorted into horror when he saw the man in red and gold. He saw Tony laying against the debris, his left side obviously scarred, burned from the immense power of the infinity stones.
Peter’s cries echoed the field, “We won Mr. Stark. We won Mr. Stark. You did it Sir, you did it”, his hands gripping the sides of Tony. He was gently brushed aside by Pepper. She crouched in front of Tony, laying a hand over his arc reactor.
“Friday?” Pepper asked.
“Life functions critically injured” the AI replied. Tony smiled at Pepper, but it was gone as quickly, replaced with worry. Pepper smiled, knowing exactly what he was thinking about. “Tony” she said. Tony looked down, ignoring her gaze, his eyes filled with tears.
“Tony look at me.” He used his remaining strength to lift his head up.
“We’re gonna be okay. You can rest now” Pepper smiled, trying her hardest to make sure that the last thing Tony saw was her smiling at him, instead of crying. The blue light of the arc reactor slowly darkened, Tony’s breathing stopping along with it. Once there was no light, Pepper looked down and cried.
Steve couldn’t move, he felt like he couldn’t breathe. ‘They won’, he thought. ‘But at what cost?’
~~
The hologram message was ending, with Tony’s last message to his daughter echoing the room.
“Everybody wants a happy ending, right? But it doesn’t always roll that way. Maybe this time. I’m hoping if you play this back, it’s in celebration. I hope families are reunited, I hope we get it back, and something like a normal version of the planet has been restored. If there ever was such a thing. God, what a world. Universe, now. If you told me ten years ago that we weren’t alone, let alone, you know, to this extent, I mean, I wouldn’t have been surprised. But come on, who knew?
That epic forces of darkness and light that have come into play. And, for better or worse, that’s the reality Morgan’s going to have to find a way to grow up in. So I found the time and I recorded a little greeting, in the case of an untimely death. On my part. I mean, not that, death at any time isn’t untimely. This time travel thing that we’re going to try and pull off tomorrow, it’s got me scratching my head about the survivability of it. Then again, that’s the hero gig. Part of the journey is the end. What am I even tripping for? Everything’s going to work out exactly the way it’s supposed to. I love you 3000”
~~
Steve was examining the shield Tony gave to him. He was going back in time tomorrow, to return the stones back into its rightful place. His heart ached for the loss of two of his closest friends. He missed Natasha, but he missed Tony more, regretting that they were enemies more than they were friends.
Suddenly, his eye caught something. A little electronic device, attached to one of the leather straps of the shield. He pushed the button, and a blue hologram of Tony appeared, similar to the one that was for Morgan.
“Hey Cap” the message started. “I just wanna say it straight. I’m sorry. We never really got a chance to say it to each other, with the whole Thanos situation and half of the universe disappearing. I should’ve been more honest. Actually, we should’ve been more honest to each other. Maybe that’s the reason why we were never together. We knew how we felt about each other, but we never…” He trailed off.
‘Took our chance.’ Steve thought bitterly. They both had multiple chances, to say sorry, to mend the relationship, to be more than friends. Both were just too stubborn and untrusting of one another. It’s one of the biggest regrets Steve is holding to his heart. The hologram continued.
“Anyways, the point of this message is that I have decided to move on” Tony’s voice cracked during that sentence, “That means you should move on too. Get a person you love, settle down, have kids, you know the whole shinazz. I want you to be happy. I want you to experience having a child, having someone to love. Have the things I couldn’t give to you.” Steve’s eyes started to tear up.
“Just know that I loved you before” Tony took a deep breath, preparing for his next words, “And I still love you now. I don’t think that has changed. And when this whole thing is over, if we both survive, and we are going to survive by the way, let’s go and catch up on the years we’ve missed. Fix this relationship of ours, together.” The hologram flickered off, leaving the room dark and empty.
~~
Steve stood on the platform with the stones and the Mjolnir as Bruce prepared the time machine. All he could think of was the message that Tony sent him. Sam interrupted his thoughts by saying “How long will it take?”
“For him? As long as he wants. For us? 5 seconds” responded Bruce. The whirr of the machine grew louder. Steve nodded towards them, signaling he’s ready. The helmet covered his face, but Bucky noticed the tears that fell on his face. Before he could react, he was gone, going into the quantum realm.
“Alright” bruce said, “he’ll be back in 5” He started to countdown, and Bucky had a feeling of dread in his gut.
“4…, 3…, 2…, 1” Nothing happened.
Everyone started panicking, except for Bucky. He looked to his left, towards the beautiful sun that was starting to set. He then saw an old man sitting on a bench, beside him was a familiar red, white, and blue shield. “Steve?” Bucky asked. The old man looked towards him.
“Hey Bucky.”
~~
Steve looked at the multiple picture frames that were displayed across the dressing table beside his bed. The most prominent one was a picture of him in a black tuxedo and Peggy in a white wedding dress, encased in a gold frame. Others captured moments of their kids, the places they’ve been to, the adventures they had. Steve smiled at all the memories. He laid in bed alone. Peggy had died a decade earlier, and his serum kept him alive longer than he was planning. He closed his eyes, and went into a deep sleep.
The next time he woke up in was not in his room. Even though he was not in his room, he surprisingly felt at ease, like the burdens and regrets that he carried throughout his life was lifted. It was very peaceful. He looked around, taking in the familiar environment. This was the Avengers tower, the one they lived in before. Steve was in the Avenger’s living room, with warm and bright light seeping through the massive windows. ‘What a nice dream’ Steve thought. He got up, deciding to explore the tower. He made his way towards the familiar bar, the place where he realized his feelings for Tony. This is where Steve noticed all of Tony’s perfections and flaws and realized that he still cared deeply for him. More than friends should.
Steve was pulled out of his thoughts when he noticed that there was a black figure sitting on one of the stools, with their back towards Steve. Red hair was glistening against the sun with blonde tips at the end. The familiar black suit was a stark contrast against the white marble of the counter. Steve took in a shaky breath as the figure turned around and faced him.
“We were waiting for you, although I think you arrived a bit too early” Natasha said. Steve broke into a run towards Natasha, pulling her into an embrace. They stayed like that for a few moments. Steve processed what Natasha said earlier and pulled away first with a questioning look, “What do you mean I’m early?”.
Natasha only smirked and shook her head, saying “We can exchange explanations later. There’s another person waiting for you. He’s in his workshop”. Steve froze at the sentence and Natasha used that opportunity to push Steve towards the elevator. The elevator took him all the way down to the workshop. The doors opened and he was greeted with the blue hues from the holograms. In the middle of the workshop, a man with familiar gold and red amour has his back turned towards his, looking down at his wrist like he was keeping track of time. He didn’t have his helmet on, and there was no visible scars or dents from battle. Steve took a step into the workshop, his heart fluttering. The man didn’t turn towards Steve until he was a few feet away from him.
“Tony?” Steve’s voice was breathless.
“Been waiting for you Cap. You’re a bit early” Tony responded with a grin, holding his hand out towards him. Steve took his hand and pulled Tony into his arms. “I missed you” was the only thing Steve managed to get through his mouth, despite other things he wanted to say. As if knowing what he was thinking, Tony pulled away and looked up at him, saying “Don’t worry Steve, we have a lot of time to talk. But first…” Tony snaked his hand behind Steve’s head, pulling him down, sealing their lips together.
The kiss was passionate, each of them conveying their feelings through the kiss. Feelings of yearning, and regret. Steve pulled away and pressed their foreheads together. Tony gently stroked his hair, and drew circles with his thumb on Steve’s hand. “Come on Cap, Nat is waiting us upstairs.” With that, Tony led him back to the living room, never letting go of Steve’s hand.
~~
They all sat down in front of the flat screen TV. Tony was in a love seat with Steve, while Natasha was sitting across from them. Steve was the first to speak “Am I in heaven?” Tony and Natasha laughed at him. “It’s an afterlife of some sort. I mean, do you really think people like us go to heaven Cap?” Tony asked. “Yes, especially what you’ve done to save the world. To save us, your family” Steve responded without skipping a beat.
“So, want to tell us why you’re here so early? It hasn’t been that long since we won. We thought we have to wait 60 more years for you.” Natasha asked.
Steve looked into Tony’s eyes as he spoke “I took Tony’s advice and tried the whole family thing. It was nice” Tony squeezed his hand as Steve continued to explain his life. How he went back in time and stayed there. The family he made with Peggy, all the memories he had made with them. Natasha stood up to get some more drinks from the bar, offering to get some for them, which they gladly agreed to.
Steve laid his head on Tony’s shoulders. He closed his eyes and whispered “Even though you told me to move on, I didn’t” He sat up and put his hands on Tony’s face. “I could never leave you behind Tony. I love you. I only did that because you asked me to. And I’m sorry that I was too stubborn to say sorry when we were alive, and-“ Steve started to ramble, but was cut by Tony’s kiss. “That doesn’t matter anymore” Tony said “Now we’re here together again. We can spend an eternity together” and with that, Tony continued to kiss him.
“Nice to know I’ll be a third wheel until the next Avenger shows up.” Natasha remarked casually as she placed their drinks on the table. “Come on Nat, you were our biggest shipper. You wanted us together and now you’re having it” Tony said. She rolled her eyes and responded with a playful jab. They laughed and settled down in their seats, telling each other stories while waiting for the next person of the Avengers family to enter their little heaven.