The Immortality War || The Avengers

Chapter Six: Remember Them

Music is "When We Were Young" by Madilyn Bailey & KHS Piano.

Picture is the Barnes' House.

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CHAPTER SIX: Remember Them

"Show me."

"Show you what?"

"Show me everything I've missed."

The day after Steve reunited with his lost love, Peggy Carter, he woke up with this request. Not five minutes has passed before he's leaning against the kitchen counter, handing me a cup of hot tea. He's wide awake, washed and dressed, ready to take on the day. I am still in my pajamas, hair in disarray, eyes barely able to digest the sunlight that streams through the blinds.

"Steve, it's not even seven in the morning yet," I reply, my sleep voice causing my English accent to come out scratchy.

The blond man nods. "I know, I know. I know it's early and...and that you have Grant to take care of. I know Fury is sending your stuff from Paris in today, and I'm sure you're gonna wanna make sure it all gets here in one piece. I know that. But Emma." He shakes his head, a pleading look on his face. "I gotta see them. I gotta see Bucky. I gotta see Rossi's, Ebbets Field, Coney Island. All the places that we used to go. All the places that have meaning. I...I..." He trails off.

I set my mug onto the counter. "You want closure. I understand."

Steve nods, knowing I know exactly how he feels. "Yeah, closure." He rests his elbows on the counter and runs his hands through his hair. "I have to see how everything has changed. I've been gone too long. I've seen Rose, Peggy, you. Now I gotta pay my respects to Buck. Hell, you haven't been able to see him either in...how long?"

My eyes avert his. "Five years. I attended Dum Dum's funeral, but after that, they installed security cameras at the grave site. They knew I'd visit again, so I couldn't go back. I had Grant, I couldn't."

Steve takes my hand across the cold marble. His baby blue eyes are sympathetic. "I know, Em. I know."

I give him a brief smile. "Let me get a shower and send Grant to go spend the day with Rose. Then we'll go for a walk down memory lane, all right?"

Steve nods, giving my hand a squeeze. "Take your time."

I chuckle, turning with my mug to walk towards the bathroom. "Time is one thing I have in abundance."

I do as I promise after a shower and a call to the agent stationed outside our building. Grant is escorted by S.H.I.E.L.D. to Rose's building, and Steve and I head to Brooklyn. After a cab ride across the bridge to the other borough of New York, we walk hand in hand, just like we did so many years ago. The city really hasn't changed much. It's only gotten bigger. There are new buildings, the ones he used to see are old and falling apart, but the energy Brooklyn gives off remains.

In awe, Steve looks around at the buildings as we walk through the neighborhood he grew up in. "Look familiar, soldier?" I ask.

"Yeah, a bit." Steve points to the little apartment on the second floor of a run-down brick building. He leads me over. We both have been inside this building many, many times. His shoulders slouch at the sight of it, bricks falling off the sides. It's obvious that no one has lived in it for decades. "I was born here," he whispers, eyes glued to the second story fire escape which we played on many times. "I grew up here."

I squeeze his hand in reassurance. "I remember."

"I lost both of my parents here," he says, his voice lower.