One | Steve Rogers

8

Lauren is quick to change their clothes. With a flick of her wrist, she gives Tony a suit and her and Steve army cammies.

Steve feels right at home, and even though they're in 1970, he feels back at home in the 1940's. A part of him always longed to go back. He puts on his aviators, and Lauren can't help but smirk at how attractive her husband looks.

As they walk through the base, they come across a giant sign that reads:

" The Birthplace of Captain America"

" Clearly you weren't actually born here, right?" Tony asks.

" The idea of me was," Steve says.

Every time they walk by someone, Steve tilts his head down and hopes nobody notices who he is.

" Right, well, imagine you're S.H.I.E.L.D. running a quasi-fascistic intelligence organization where do you hide it?" Tony asks as they come across a corridor.

" In plain sight," Lauren responds as she motions to the bunker in front of them.

They see two men walk inside the bunker, trying to act inconspicuous. Tony uses his glasses to see through the concrete walls and metal door to see an elevator going down and down and down into the ground.

Lauren leads the way to the bunker and the two men follow. The enter the elevator with a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Tony presses two buttons for two different floors. She greets them with a smile, then returns back to her papers. The agent looks back up at Steve and squints her eyes, and Tony steps in front of him to block him from her vision. 

The elevator dings and the doors open.

" Good luck on your mission, Captain... Major," Tony says, first looking at Steve then at Lauren.

She silently chuckles at the fact that Tony gave her a higher rank.

" Good luck on your project, Doctor," Steve says awkwardly as Tony exits the elevator.

The elevator doors close, and the couple are left with the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

" You new here?" The agent asks.

" No exactly," Steve responds.

The agent's eyes linger on Steve. There's something about him she can't quit put her finger on. The elevator dings once more, and Lauren and Steve exit. Lauren thinks about how they're going to get Hank Pym out of his lab, meanwhile Steve finds the nearest phone and dials the lab.

" Hello?"

" Doctor Pym?"

" That would be the number that you called, yes."

" This is Captain Stevens from shipping. We have a package for you."

" Oh, bring it up."

" That's the thing, sir. We can't."

" I'm confused, I thought that was your job."

" Well, sir... the box is glowing and to be honest, some of our mail guys aren't feeling that great."

" They didn't open it, did they?"

" Uh, yeah, they did. You better get down here."

Hank Pym hags up the phone and frantically runs out of his lab and down the hall way. Steve puts the phone back on the receiver, then looks over at his wife who has a smile on her face.

" What? You're not the only one who's quick on their feet," He says.

They quickly enter the lab and search for more Pym particles. They find a biohazard sign, and a containment box with the vials of particles. Steve walks up to the box to get the vials, but before he knows it, some of the vials are gone.

He turns around to face Lauren, who know holds the particles in her hands. He sighs as she smirks and puts them in her pocket. 

They walk out of the lab and back into the hallway, but see the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent from the elevator talking to two MP's. The agent mentions the three suspicious characters in the elevator, and Lauren quickly pulls Steve into a random office to hide.

But if only she didn't. If only she picked another door. Any other door.

Out of the corner of his eye, Steve finds something familiar. He looks down at the desk and finds a picture of himself from the first day of bootcamp. Curious, he walks up to the desk and picks up the picture.

In the next room over, someone walks in and argues with the person behind them.

Both Lauren and Steve look through the glass with the blinds, only to find Agent Peggy Carter.

Peggy dismisses the person with whom she was arguing, and goes over the papers on her desk. Steve walks up to the glass and watches her. He looks at the woman he once loved through the glass. Seeing her again, seeing her like this makes all the memories come back. He remembers how good it felt to have someone love him for who he was. He's reminded of what he lost that day he went into the ice. What he could've had with her.

A single tear falls down his cheek.

Peggy walks away, and Steve tilts his head down. He sniffs, then turns his attention back to Lauren. She stands there with arms crosses, not a single visible emotion on her face.

" Do you still love her?" She asks.

Steve may be her husband, but she is not his first. Steve had no choice to end his relationship with Peggy.

Lauren keeps herself calm as she waits for an answer.

" No."

Lauren walks closer to her husband, one step at a time, slowly. She looks up into his eyes. She reads him, without her powers. From what she can tell, he's telling the truth.

" I don't believe you," Lauren says as her eyes flicker back and forth from his right eye to his left.

Steve grabs Lauren's hand and places it over his heart. He looks in her eyes and nods. Without ever breaking eye contact, Lauren uses her powers to seep into his heart. She feels what he feels. She feels nothing for Peggy... and everything for her. She seeps into his mind. She gazes through his thoughts, and comes to one conclusion.

He only loves her.

Lauren removes her hand from her husband's chest and looks at him with glossy eyes. Steve kisses her on her forehead as he grabs her hand.

Hand in hand, the couples walks back down the hallway and into the elevator to get back on ground level. They see Tony from a distance and wait. They give him some time to say goodbye to his dad. 

After one semi awkward hug, Tony walks back to the couple.

They all gear back up, and jump back into the quantum tunnel to return to their own time.