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Steve sat back and watched Sousa leave the room. He passed through the door, and Steve frowned at the scraps left on his plate.
Honestly, he was a little jealous of the guy. When Steve went into the ice, he'd left behind the love of his life. Sousa, apparently, had done things the other way around. Lucky man.
Steve settled the bill and drove to Anacostia Park, where he could get a view of the Potomac and potentially stay off the radar of the tourist crowds. A hoodie and sunglasses weren't the most sophisticated disguises the 21st century had to offer, but they usually did the job well enough.
He found a good perch under a large, shady tree, and sat down with charcoal and a sketchbook, looking out over the river. He drew, and let his mind wander.
He'd tried to make things work with Sharon - for a little while. Once he abandoned the pressure to follow orders he might not trust, he thought he might have a chance at building a new life for himself. Even when he'd been on the run from the government, he was at least being true to himself.
He'd met up with Sharon a few times. Bucky and Sam were always happy to go out of their way if it meant seeing Sharon. Sam educated Steve and Bucky on the evolution of the term "wingman," and the two friends anointed themselves accordingly, with glee.
But it never really clicked. And Sharon deserved somebody who wasn't in love with her dearly departed Aunt Peggy.
No, the only part of his life here that ever really worked was just doing the good that he could do - helping people however he could. Sousa seemed to be cut from the same cloth.
"You certainly had a type, didn't you, Peg?"
Steve smiled at the sketch of Peggy's face emerging on the page before him. A little older than when he'd last seen her in '45, but not old.
"I'll look out for him, I promise. He might not need me much, though. He met a girl."
Steve was definitely jealous.
****
Daniel shook Rogers' hand and sat down at their usual table at the Silver Diner. They hadn't done this often, but he looked forward to it more each time. The more Daniel got accustomed to 21st century life, the less he really needed Rogers' advice - but the better it felt to spend time with somebody who could remember living through years that most people considered history.
"How's Daisy?" Rogers asked without preamble.
"She's good," Daniel replied with a wide smile. "Getting nervous about leading the new team, but she'll be great. That's kinda why I wanted to meet. I'm going to be gone awhile. So I wanted to say goodbye properly."
"A while? Undercover mission?" Rogers guessed.
Steve didn't usually care to talk about S.H.I.E.L.D. much, so Daniel hadn't brought up the new mission yet. He'd eventually looked into the "falling out" Daisy told him about. She'd...understated the situation.
The waitress came into the room with a pair of waters and an order pad, stalling the conversation for a minute.
"Mmm, not undercover exactly. Well, not at all," Daniel said with a quick shake of his head after she left. "Space. Kind of a Star Trek, new life and new civilizations vibe."
"Nice reference," Rogers acknowledged with a nod.
"Thanks. I'm calling us the Astro Ambassadors." Daniel spread his hands apart in the air, imagining the movie title splashing across a screen. "Whaddya think?"
"I think that you, my friend, are kind of a dork," Rogers replied, grabbing his water glass and offering a mock salute.
"Yeah, so Daisy says. Often, in fact. You're one to talk, Captain America."
"How are you two doing, anyway?" Steve asked.
He'd only met Daisy once - she usually cracked wise about not interrupting their so-called "bromance" when Daniel invited her along to their lunches. But Steve was genuinely interested in Daniel and Daisy's relationship. Daniel got the impression that Steve was rooting for them because it gave Daniel something to ground him in the present that Steve didn't have. Daniel tried not to put that kind of pressure on Daisy. He built other connections to the modern world - a friendship with Mack, dedication to his work, delight with TV shows. Is it still TV if it's on YouTube? I'll never get that straight. He really would be fine alone. But Daisy was, unquestionably, the love of his life.
"We're good, thanks." Their food arrived, and Daniel considered what details to share. Rogers reminded him of Peggy when they'd worked in the bull pen together in New York - still grieving the war that took too much. It felt rude to be too happy about Daisy, even if Rogers was rooting for them. "You know what I like about the 21st century?"
"What's that?" Steve asked, digging into his fries.
"When you bunk up with a woman these days - " (it was hard to call the safehouse living together) " - nobody makes snide remarks about making an honest woman out of her." He paused and reconsidered. "Well, just that one time. But Mack was making fun of the '50s. Or me. Or both, but definitely not her."
"This century has its advantages, I'll give it that. Like the food." He indicated his plate. "Have you tried shawarma?" Daniel shook his head. "Put it on the list." He paused for a drink before continuing. "So is that in the future for you two? Marriage, I mean, not - " Steve left the tiniest of pauses " - bunking."
Way to avoid rubbing salt in the wound, Sousa. But no, they were both still a little skittish about discussing the future. Better than before. But Daisy's lifestyle was to live mission to mission, and this was a hell of an assignment, with no clear end date. And he hadn't even mentioned the ex-fiancee in his past yet.
"I don't think Daisy's ever thought much about marriage." Daniel munched thoughtfully on his club sandwich. There hadn't been any positive examples in her life, except Fitzsimmons. (Daniel still didn't understand if they were actually married or not, with the whole past/future Fitz deal. Daniel's own time-hopping life seemed straightforward in comparison.)
"But you want to." Rogers pointed at Daniel with his pita.
"That's not how things work in this decade. Not this fast," Daniel deflected.
"Things work the way people make them work. In any decade."
"You ever get tired of playing the wise sage all the time?"
"Touche," Rogers relented. "I do miss how simple some things used to be."
"Simple. Yeah," Daniel drifted off, thinking about the way Daisy liked to describe their relationship.
"Or maybe it's all relative. Dating never was my strong suit," Rogers interrupted Daniel's reverie. "But you're off to space together, right?"
"Yeah." He refocused. "Yes. Long term exploration - at least a few months, then we'll reassess and go from there. So I don't know when I'll be back on Earth."
"Things you never thought you'd say back in the '40s," Rogers interjected with a laugh.
"Right?" Daniel set his fork down and leaned forward. "We're leaving in a few weeks. So I really wanted to say thank you for everything. This all would've been a hell of a lot harder without you."
"You'd do alright. Better than I did, anyway."
The two men out of time spent most of the rest of their meal comparing their recommendation lists and discussing their pop culture discoveries. They'd both started watching Spielberg movies. Steve recommended ET for Daniel's upcoming travels. Daniel suggested Jurassic Park - "Since you can relate to fossils."
As they finished, Daniel asked, "Have you ever been to space?"
"Once," Rogers affirmed without elaborating.
"Any advice?"
Rogers stared off into the middle distance for a moment, as he sometimes did when he was omitting something from the conversation. "Watch out for talking raccoons," he warned with a smile when he refocused.
"Talking… raccoons," Daniel repeated.
"Well, I think there's only one, but he can be a real asshole."
"Pardon your French?" Daniel joked, still a little confused.
"Oh no, don't start that with me." Steve laughed and stood up. "It's been a pleasure, Sousa. Look me up when you get back."
He held out his hand. Daniel rose and shook it. "Take care of yourself," he said.
"Oh, you know me," Steve replied with a shrug as turned to walk out.
"Yeah, I do, that's why I said it," Daniel grumbled to himself as he dropped cash on the table.
****
Steve tried to give the most important people in his life something important for their lives.
For Tony, he promised not to change the last five years. It would be a neat and happy ending to make it so that Thanos never used the Stones in the first place. But life moves on - for some, anyway, or maybe even for most. So for Tony, and his daughter, and for everyone who built a life after the grief of the Snap, Steve agreed to bring the rest of the world back here and now.
For Clint, well, there wasn't anything else to give him but Steve's part in bringing about an end to the torment of life without his family.
For Thor, he'd return the hammer. "It has to be me or you," Steve had told him. "And only one of us belongs in the past."
For Sam, Steve was afraid the gift he planned would turn out to be a burden. But the world should have a Captain America who would always do the right thing, no matter the cost. And Steve couldn't think of a better fit for the job description than Sam. Sorry, buddy.
For Bucky, he tried to offer an invitation to come back with him. But Bucky wanted to stay. "You already gave me back my mind," he'd said, "and besides, somebody needs to stick around and make sure Captain America gets into a little trouble."
For Nat, he would follow her last marching orders. "I think we both need to get a life," he'd said. "You first," she'd told him. Nat wouldn't get that life now. But she would've wanted him to - and she never would've believed he'd do it. And yet here he was, with Banner, working out the final details of his trip back to the past.
Steve looked around the lab, searching for any clues for something Banner needed. What do you get for the Hulk who has everything?
"Pym particles are still rare, so you're only getting enough for each jump you need to make - one per stone, and one to get back," Banner reminded him. "
Banner didn't know that Steve planned to use the last vial to go back.
****
At last, with his mission complete, it was time for Steve to do something for himself. He could finally go back to Peggy. He smiled and took a slow breath.
He wanted - very badly - to go back to the Stork Club on the Saturday after he went down with the plane. But he had one last gift to give as he set his wristband: Sousa's timeline. He couldn't change that.
If Steve changed Peggy's past while she was still a major part of Sousa's life, Sousa's life would change, too. And maybe not for the better. Sousa, unlike Steve, had made a real future for himself in the 21st century, and Steve didn't want to put his friend's present happiness in jeopardy. Not in any possible timeline.
So Steve entered a different date into his time-space "GPS:" September 1, 1948. Besides, Peggy would forgive him for being late. She might not forgive him for risking her partner's future.
Sousa, you'd damn well better make things work with Daisy, was Steve's last thought as he made his final jump.
His first thought in 1948 was to imagine the new future with Peggy. A quiet life supporting her behind the scenes while he left history unchanged in his original timeline sounded perfect. So did making a new world where he could fight at her side. They could decide together - Steve would be happy either way.
Steve waited in a car outside SSR headquarters until he saw Peggy leave. It took an hour - and felt like a lifetime.
"Steve!"
"Yeah?"
"You're alive? You came back."
"Yeah, Peggy."
"It's been so long."
"Well I couldn't leave my best girl. Not when she owes me a dance.