Forward to the Past [Steggy] ✔

Chapter Six

Peggy's POV

Present Time

My mouth drops open at the sight of the man standing before me, his doing so as well, and he drops a sheath of papers in his hands. They scatter all over the floor as his bluish green eyes lock with mine.

Those eyes.... so familiar. A fading memory brought to the surface by waves of nostalgia, images flashing through my mind in arcs, much like lightning cuts through the clouds on a stormy day. Those eyes were the eyes that I'd first looked into with surprise, the eyes belonging to a small but determined man. Those eyes were the eyes that had gone wide in surprise as he found himself turned into a super soldier. Those eyes were the eyes that were so close to mine as we kissed right before he left to sacrifice his life to save many others. Those eyes, now a little more weary, are clearly the same eyes I'd seen years before. I just don't see how it's possible.

"Peggy?" Steve whispers, his voice broken and low with shock.

It can't be him. This has to be some kind of hallucination. But it's real, because next to me, Howard's mouth has dropped open and he looks just as surprised as I do.

"How... how is this possible?" I whisper, trying to steady myself as my vision tunnels and I begin to get dizzy. "This can't be real. You can't be Steve."

Steve's eyes flash to Tony, who nods almost imperceptibly.

"Peggy," Steve says again, his voice wavering. "It really is me." He approaches me slowly, then reaches out and grabs my hand, his fingers locking in with mine. Almost not comprehending what I'm seeing, I stare down at our intertwined hands, Then look back into Steve's eyes, which are brimming with a mixture of happiness and pain. A horrible pain, that I'd never wish to see in those eyes.

"Steve?" I whisper, and he nods, the ghost of a smile turning the corners of his lips up. "How are you here?"

"The serum, Peg. I was stuck in the ice for sixty six years before anyone found me. The serum kept me alive."

"And... and you were in the ice the whole time?" I ask, horrified, and Steve nods.

"Yeah. Asleep, but yeah." He pauses, looking directly into my eyes. "I'm so sorry, Peg. If I could've come back... if I'd have found a way to get back to you-" his voice breaks, and he shakes his head, clearly unable to say any more. It breaks my heart to see him like this.

"Steve.... there was clearly nothing you could have done," I say quietly, squeezing his hand. "You're alive. That's all that matters now."

"Well, I couldn't leave my best girl, could I?" Steve says after a moment, and I blink away tears as the corner of his mouth quirks into a lopsided grin. He then turns to Howard, who's still looking a little out of it with surprise. "It's good to see you again, Howard."

"Wow... uh, you too, pal," Howard says, his eyes wide. "It's been a while."

"Looks like it's been longer for me than it has been for you," Steve points out. "How exactly are you here? I'm guessing it had something to do with one of your ideas, Howard?"

"We may or may not have used the Tesseract to create a time machine," Howard admits, and Steve chuckles.

"I wouldn't recommend using it again. We had some trouble with it a few years back-"

"Yes, Tony told us," I interject, and Steve nods.

"Ah. So when are you from?" He asks, then smirks. "That's a question I didn't think I'd ever ask."

"1950," Howard replies.

"So it'd been five years...." Steve says quietly.

"Yeah. Five years," I agree.

"Hey, Tony, can I tell them things, or will the past get all screwed up?" Steve asks.

"Tell them whatever," Tony says, shrugging. "They won't remember anyways."

"They won't... remember?" Steve says, looking more than a little disappointed. "Nothing? They won't have any recollection of this?"

My heart sinks as I realize what I know Steve is thinking. When I go back to 1950, I won't remember that Steve is alive. I won't remember that he's okay, that he'll be fine. I won't remember talking to him. I want to remember. I want to be able to think about Steve without my heart practically tearing itself out of my chest. I want to remember good things.

Clearly Steve is thinking along the same lines, because a small scowl is etched onto his face, his features settled into a look of disappointment. His eyes are narrowed. "Any way to fix that?"

Tony shakes his head. "Even if there was, I don't think we'd want to, Cap. Can't risk it. Too much could happen if they remember. We can remember all we want, but they can't. I'm sorry."

Steve sighs, looking back at me. "I wish you would remember something," he says, reaching out a hand to brush my cheek. "It wouldn't have to be everything, but maybe...."

"I'm sorry, Steve," I murmur, looking up at him. "I want to remember too. But at least you will. You'll remember."

"But if you don't remember anything, I don't want to either," Steve says quietly, and I sigh, rubbing my hand along his in reassurance.

"That's not how it works," I say with a sad smile. "But I'll make it worth remembering. Trust me, I will."

Still smiling at Steve, I lean up to him, looking at every fleck of green in his blue eyes. Those eyes are the most beautiful color I have ever seen, I think to myself. Then I kiss him.