Into the Fray {Marvel} ||4||

Bonus - An Alternate Outcome

It tortured him in his mind, the memory. How broken she looked, how fragile she was in his arms. How she didn't seem so invincible in that moment, when their side was losing.

Steve Rogers never got much sleep as it was, her death only made him worse. He had already endured so much and lost people he cared deeply for. He had been looking into the future during the mess with Ultron, how there was a chance at something of a normal life.

Of course, that meant considering hanging up his costume for good or passing it on to someone worthy.

Steve had considered it, because of her. She was the only reason he considered giving up Captain America. Not that she ever asked him to, but because he wanted a normal life with her even though they were both far from normal.

The idea was long gone now, to give up being an iconic symbol. He wanted to remain Captain America, for her. Though her death brought him nothing but grief, it also brought him to a final decision.

He sat hunched over on the bed, the moonlight shining down on him. He had his head in his hands, trying to clear his mind. It wasn't easy to forget someone like her.

Feet thumped just outside of his room. Not again, Steve thought bitterly. He's trying another therapy session?

"I'm not in the mood for talking," Steve growled. He really hoped he didn't have to shout to get his point across. He hated being in a sour mood and hated it even more when he was sour with other people.

"At least you're talking," said Todd. Ever since the incident, the two men hurt over her death. Todd handled it slightly better than Steve had and decided that neither of them should be alone. Ever since then, Steve had moved into her old room, reluctantly.

"I guess it's progress. Are we needed?"

"No, I just stopped to make sure you weren't doing anything stupid." Out of the two men, Todd was the saner one, but not by much. Her death haunted him too, but it never could compare to how it bothered Steve.

She had died in Steve's arms, after all. It's hard to recover from something so traumatizing.

"You don't need to camp on the floor. I'll be fine."

"You better be." Todd left his mourning roommate to head to bed.

Steve ran a hand through his blond hair, which had paleness to it thanks to the moonlight. He was like this since she died, always thinking about her, trying his hardest to not replay her final moments in his head. He oftentimes pictured the life they could have had together had she survived. They would have done some serious, thorough wedding planning, more so her than him. He'd agree with anything she wanted. Would he have met her parents, the ones who lived in an entirely different realm? Would they have accepted him with open arms? Would they have iced her out because she had run away so long ago?

The big day would come, and it would be a small ceremony. Just their inner circles. Their honeymoon would have been long and romantic; Steve would have planned it out for months prior in his head. Just the mere concept of a future with her tortured him.

He would have given anything, his own life even, to have her by his side again. Her other-realm accent, her radiant smile, her laugh. He missed every aspect of her, and anything that reminded him of her made him hurt more.

This was Steve Rogers' silent phase as Todd had deemed it. He wouldn't want anyone to approach him; he barely talked even when he was addressed directly. Most of the time he was lost in his thoughts and Todd knew that about 90% of them were about his best friend. Todd couldn't blame the heart-broken super soldier, he missed her too. He missed his best friend, his other-realm roommate.

Steve's thought remained on her but wandered into dangerous territory. He recalled the whole incident that started the mess with Ultron. He pinpointed the main source of the chaos, the main reason why she wasn't by his side anymore.

Tony Stark.

It was Stark's genius that got her killed on the battlefield. He was the reason she was dead. Though he hadn't committed the murder himself, he might as well have. Steve's hands balled into fists. He had never really gotten along with Stark in the beginning, their personalities rivaled constantly. Then, for a time, they were on the same side.

Her death changed that now, once Steve believed he thoroughly thought it out.

It makes sense. I wonder if I'm the only one who really realizes it? he wondered. He took her from me, not that he meant to. He got her killed. He's the reason I lost my fiancée.

Steve closed his eyes, counted to ten in his head, did some deep breathing exercises. Now he knew the real killer.

If he didn't hate Tony Stark enough before, he definitely had reason to now.

**So, yeah...It's not the most rational thinking of Steve Rogers, but he's mourning. He's in pain. I feel like this would have been his breaking point in his friendship with Tony.

And just speculation: I can imagine how painful it would be on Tony, cause I ship their bromance so hard #ironfly. I can just picture him in agony over thinking that Kiara's death was his fault, and that he couldn't do a thing to bring her back.

No, this would not be a direct cause of Civil War, but I certainly liked to think it would have made Steve's position against Tony more solid not so much for freedom to do as superheroes please, but because of Tony's brain and skill Kiara got killed when Ultron decided to turn into a murderbot.**