Back to You [An Endgame Continuation]

With You Til the End pt. 2

Vote/Comment!!!
Oh my goodness. This is it. 😭
I don't know what I'm going to write after this! This has been such a long project. If you've been here since the beginning, I appreciate you so much! I know a lot of people disagree with Steve's ending, and one of my goals with this book was to give some context and demystify what he really went back to. Plus, I've filled in some plot holes that I had problems with after Endgame! I hope it helps you too. ;) Even if it's all speculative.

Ｗｉｔｈ Ｙｏｕ Ｔｉｌ ｔｈｅ Ｅｎｄ pt.2
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Four weeks later. . .
p.o.v: Steve

The sun was still creeping under the horizon when I went to see Maria at the hospital. She held a mug in her hand as she opened the door and smiled at me. "Hey. I just came down and put some coffee on."

"Sounds great," I answered in a hushed tone, and as I stepped in from the snowy alley, I was met with a wave of warmth from the heaters we brought in once winter had arrived in full force. We also moved out some of the lab equipment and put in some kitchen supplies, as well as a record player to make the basement more like a home than a laboratory.

As I took off my jacket, I noticed the classical music still playing in the corner next to the lounge chairs she had moved down from her office. "I take it last night went well," I referenced, given how Bucky had taken a liking to old orchestra music as a way to fall asleep.

Maria was at one of the counters making my cup of coffee. "Oh, yes. It's been working wonders." She stirred in some powdered cream, then turned back to the chairs where I was sitting. "I've been recording his heart and breath rate through the night and there aren't nearly as many interruptions."

"So he's waking up less?" I asked as I gladly took the mug she offered me.

"Considerably."

My chest lightened as I smiled over at her. "It's relieving to hear good news."

Her smile was more conserved. "I know it's been a long awaited moment, but.. we knew it would take time."

"The best things often do," I said, glancing down shyly.

Maria lowered her mug from her lips, the Edison bulb on the table painting her creased expression gold. "Still nothing from Stark?"

I shook my head slightly, staring down into my cup. "Peggy's starting to worry about him."

Maria leaned forward to set her empty cup on the table. "I'm sure he'll reach out soon. If not, would it be much of a punishment to keep living here in London?"

"Well, she does have a lot of memories here, but.. we both have an idea of where we want to go after we have our ceremony— eventually."

She smiled a little at my added denotation, but then we both heard footsteps coming from the hallway across the room. We both turned around and saw Bucky walking out of the shadows quietly, his face sleepy and short hair a mop on top of his head.

Neither me or Maria moved a muscle since a week ago, we'd removed his constraints and left the cell door open during the night, but up until now he had never walked out on his own before.

He stopped once he reached the end of the hallway, and I studied his expression to see if he was behaving on his own accord or from the programming in his head.

He stood for a moment longer, then looked over towards the makeshift kitchen. "I.. smelled coffee," he said, his voice low and tattered.

Maria's eyebrows shot into the air, and she gestured to the half-full cup of coffee. "Yeah, um. Help.. yourself."