Steve Rogers Imagines

The Snap (Epilogue)

Jen pounded the pavement in time to the beat but couldn't still her racing mind, finally she stopped pulling out her phone from her pocket and hitting speed dial.

Anxiously she waited for it to connect sighing in frustration as the voicemail clicked in

"Hey Steve I'm sorry I know I should let you focus but the lack of news is killing me here. I need to know you're all ok..."

A woman across the road seemed to fall into the road, causing a car to swerve and mount the curb, but even as Jen watched the woman disappeared before her eyes in a cloud of dust, her friend beginning to scream before she hit the floor. The driver leapt out of the car only to disappear also, dust drifting in wind. The first woman's screaming friend vanished too, leaving silence in her wake.

"Wait what?.."

Jen couldn't believe her eyes, realising she was still gripping the phone to her ear she squeaked

"Oh my god Steve, something's happening here..."

A man appeared to her right having run out of his house and collided with her, holding onto her arm he stared at her eyes wild.

"Oh my god what is this?..."

Clutching at her legs, he slid down to the floor, knocking her phone out of his hand as he fell.

Jen stared down at him, watching in horror as he too turned to dust at her feet, shaking she reached down to pick up her phone, noting as she did so that it had gone black a crack across the screen.

In the days and weeks that followed the news published conflicting reports on what had happened. None of them seemed to know if the Avengers had survived and no one seemed to have seen them since Wakanda. Jen wept as she wrapped her hands around her growing belly protecting her child as best she could while grieving for his or her father.

***

They tried to fix it but it was too little too late.

Thanos had already destroyed the stones by the time they got to him, it was too late. Thor chopped his head off regardless, but it didn't bring anyone back, they were never coming back.

The team retreated to the compound tired, defeated and despondent to accept the awful truth, they'd all lost people, the entire world was grieving and angry at the injustice of it all.

Steve kept hoping that he'd wake up one day and find it was all a bad dream but every day he woke up and it was the same.

Tensions where running high in the compound, Tony was angriest of all with most of it directed towards Steve, he blamed him for not being there, he blamed himself too.

Finally about 2 months after Steve made a decision he had to go back, she wasn't there but still he needed to see for himself. Nat offered to go with him half-heartedly, she knew he'd refuse and she wasn't disappointed in that respect. Steve shook his head sadly "Thanks Nat but I need to do this alone" as he headed for the Quinjet, she nodded tears silently falling down her face as he left.

She cried a lot these days, they all did.

There was no need to hide anymore so Steve left the jet in a field a short walk away, there was no one around that cared.

He walked down her street, noticing the glazed faces as people went about their business because they didn't know what else to do, still dazed and confused by all that had occurred.

Some houses had already started to look uncared for as hedges grew higher and flowers died with no one there to tend to them. Cars appeared abandoned on the edge of the road, one had clearly jumped the curb when it's owner vanished, it was parked haphazardly through an overgrown hedge no one caring enough to move it.

Steve found himself looking down as he neared her house, not wanting to see it devoid of life without her there. As such he didn't notice the freshly planted flowers in the border or the movement through the window.

Reaching the front door, he stretched his hand for the handle with a deep breath, freezing when he heard movement from the other side of the door.

Abruptly the door was ripped open a familiar yet tired face staring at him open mouthed.

They stood staring at each other neither believing their eyes, Steve noticed the dark circles under her eyes, her hair was unkempt rather than smooth and glossy as he was used to.

The most pronounced change was the swelling of her belly, clearly defined by the T-shirt she was wearing.

Dropping to his knees Steve pulled her to him burying his face in her stomach as he cried, her arms instinctively wrapping around his head and shoulders holding him close as she too sobbed.

"I thought I lost you" Jen gasped.

Rocking back on his heels to look up at her Steve smiled through his tears "I thought I'd lost you both"

She shook her head down at the father of her child "It'll take more than that to get rid of me" she smiled giddily at him, elated at the unexpected reunion.

Surging to his feet he gathered her into his arms and kissed her with every ounce of longing and passion he possessed, desperately trying to reassure his tired senses that she was real.

Breaking apart Jen rested her forehead against his "It's about damn time Soldier, what took you so long?"

Steve chuckled "I'm sorry Doll, but trust me when I say I am never leaving you again"

Word Count 954

28/10/2020