oblivion. ▷ captain america. [1] •••DISCONTINUED•••

xxiii ▷ the aftermath.

T W E N T Y  T H R E E

23. | the aftermath.
the battle's done and won

steve.

•

THE DESTRUCTION of New York was catastrophic. The death tolls were high. The six of us, the Avengers, were held accountable for all of it, but what we saved was a lot more recognized than what we caused because we did. All around the city are posters and murals of each of us. It's nice seeing Captain America in the big spotlight again, but this time with a few friends.

On news channels, I've seen little girls with short hair wearing all black outfits proudly showing the camera their Black Widow dolls. There have been people getting the Tony Stark goatee. Kids held little Mjölneers and bows with a quiver on their backs. Some had a styrofoam green fist on their hands and roared in the camera. Then there are the mini shields and shirts with shields printed on them. Even despite the damage we caused to their city, they still appreciate that we didn't let an alien invasion occur.

After we went to the small shawarma place as Tony asked, we put Loki in chains and were ready to send him off to Asgard to face his punishment the next day. So now all six of us plus Loki all group together in the middle of Central Park in New York City.

A SHIELD agent helps Banner put the Tesseract in a little case for Thor to take back home, far away from all human activity so that in another seventy years no one can make the same dumb mistake all over again for the third time. We all step back from Thor and Loki as they turn the handles of the case and are sent up into the sky out of our sight.

The rest of us all say our goodbyes, wishing each other good luck and hoping to never have to see each other again. The first people to drive off are Stark and Banner in one of the billionaire's cars. Then Natasha, Clint and I say farewell. I hop on to my motorbike and they climb into a SHIELD car.

The wind blows through my hair as I drive off to my apartment, away from Central Park. After I park my bike and head upstairs, I jiggle my key in the door and step inside. I fumble for the light switch, illuminating the room. There are boxes containing the few items I own everywhere. I told Fury that I found a place in Washington DC, not needing this little place anymore. I'm more than glad that it wasn't blown up in the battle though, because I would owe Fury so much, even though he would just laugh as I beg him for redemption.

I take off my brown leather jacket, hanging it on the coat rack and exhale a long sigh. I can't believe just like that this is all over. None of us are really going to stay in contact anymore. Granted Stark and Banner left together and Natasha and Clint work together, but Thor's completely gone. I'm going to try to stay in touch with a few as much as I can, but I just want to relax as much as I possibly can now before I start going on missions for SHIELD soon.

Making my way through the boxes, I find my bedroom and collapse on to the bed. I am just exhausted, but I'm not quite sure it's the kind sleep can fix. It feels like my body is just drained from all this, but I know that it's not — my mind is making me think it is because it's the one that's tired. Regardless, I close my eyes, trying to block out the sounds of the city outside. My brain is numb, and it's finally getting to relax.

Maybe I can try and make some friends when I move to DC, I think to myself. It would be good for me. True, I could use some socialization, but I still want to keep a low profile. With SHIELD knowing my whereabouts and the whole world knowing of the Avengers, I'm not exactly someone that you could easily overlook. Then again, I'm a ninety four year old man who looks like he's in his late twenties, not counting the fact I'm a super soldier. But never mind that.

My thoughts turn into static after just a few moments of laying there on my back on my creaky mattress, fading away until a dream disrupts the empty bliss in my head.

[•]

"Steve."

My eyes flutter open at the soft and soothing voice whispering to me. The first thing I see is her sweet smile before I feel her long fingers gently combing through my hair. Her green orbs sparkle happily once mine lock with them. This is the first time in a while that I've seen her in my head so happy.

"You're finally awake, Sleeping Beauty," Genevieve mumbles, her smile widening. I get a better look at her now. I don't understand how my head conjures up these new pictures of her even though I've never seen her anything like this. Her longer hair naturally curls down her shoulders, soft textured and tickling my cheek as she leans down to plant a delicate kiss on my lips with her own soft pink ones. Her cheeks are rosy on her tan skin as a blush creeps across them after I glaze up at her with wide eyes. She continues to lean over me, holding herself up with her forearm by my side.

"Gen—" I begin, but she hushes me, putting a finger to my lips.

"Shhh." She shakes her head, causing her curly brunette locks that frame her face to bounce. "It's all right. You've had a long day, you need to rest."

I just do as she says, sinking into the soft mattress. Her index finger slowly moves away from my lips, dragging my bottom lip down as she does so. I stare into her eyes, just trying to take it all in.

Birds tweet outside, bringing my attention to the room. It's different from the one I fell asleep in. The white walls match the white sheets and the flowy dress Gen wears. The large window is opened on the other side of the room, letting in some fresh air that rustles the light colored mesh curtains. The bright sunlight pours across the bed, across us. It's like the perfect morning.

"I'm so happy you're home," Gen mumbles. Her finger draws patterns on my chest, causing goosebumps to rise on my skin. Even her touch makes me shiver with pleasure, completely making me disregard the fact that she said "home". "What you did could have gotten you killed," she continues. "Tony almost died, and you could have. But you didn't. You came back."

I smile weakly, bringing my hand up to cup her cheek. "Yeah, of course I came back. I never wanted to leave."

She sighs of relief, bringing her hand up to mine. "I know you didn't, and I never planned on going like I did." She keeps running her hands through my hair, like she's trying to comfort herself by doing so. "But we can't change what happened. We can't go back, no matter how badly we would like to go and change things. Just know that I loved you when I went, and I always will."

"I love you too, Genevieve. And I'm so sorry I didn't have the guts to ever tell you."

She smiles again, leaning down to kiss me once more. The perfect dream, my beautiful heaven, concludes with a kiss from her, being my goodbye from the wonderful fantasy I wish I could live.