A/N: will not let me include the song lyrics. The song is I will Follow You Into the Dark by Death Cab for Cutie. I don't own it, nor Captain Spangly-tights, though I wish I did. This fic works better while listening to this song, or listen/read the lyrics and then the fic. Thanks!
Into the Dark
Dark clouds gathered overhead as a single shadow on an ancient motorbike rumbled along the rough English road. The light of late afternoon illuminated the way through the overcast sky as the rider guided his vehicle towards an iron gate at the end of the road. Twin vines covered in the last blooms of fall climbed the fence and gate, reinforcing the deep sense of peace and silence ingrained in the hallowed earth.
Captain Steve Rogers of the US Army slowed the motorcycle to a stuttering halt at the iron gates. He removed his plain black plastic helmet and hung it from a handlebar as he dismounted and took a shaky step towards the imposing guardians of the Waltham Abbey Cemetery. He took a steadying breath and pushed on one of the gates. It swung open silently, a gentle burst of wind beckoning him. He glanced down at a crumpled scrap of paper he held clenched in a fist, tightening his hand around it before slowing unfurling the paper. He scanned it quickly, before wadding it back up and shoving it deep into a pocket of his brown leather bomber coat.
Bright blue eyes scanned the rows of headstones as he counted, looking for one. His eyes landed on a simple stone cross tombstone, one row ahead of a weeping angel monument. With slow, unsure footsteps, Steve made his way towards it.
When he reached the grave, his eyes stared blindly at the stone, unseeing, unbelieving. Slowly, as reality permeated his brain, the soldier sank to his knees, reaching for the stone.
He stayed that way for a lifetime, or so it seemed, before his hand connected to the cold gray arm of the cross, and a stray tear escaped to slide down his face.
"Peggy," his voice sounded foreign to his ears, broken and lost. "Peggy."
He cleared his throat and tried again. "Hi Peggy. It's Steve, the kid from Brooklyn."
"Sorry I missed our date." He let out a mirthless laugh, tinged with barely contained tears. "I guess I'm a little late to make it up to you. Would'a been here sooner but SHIELD's got me pretty busy, no excuse, I know."
"There's a new handler for me, us, now I guess, Lt. Hill. You'd like her. Tough as nails, just like you."
There's a new part of the army, sorta. They're called S.H.I.E.L.D. They've decked me out to be some kinda hero, it's all a bit much. I'm just a kid from Brooklyn who wanted to help out."
"I guess I want to say thank you, for being there at the end for me. Never got the chance to tell you how much that meant."
He paused, studying the somber marker before him. "I read your file, well as much of it as they'd let me. Seemed a bit like spying, not asking your permission first. Coulson said you wouldn't mind."
"I'm glad you found someone to make you happy Peggy. I wish it could have been me. File says he was an accountant. I hope he loved you like you deserved." He swallowed back a wave of bitterness that threatened to creep into his voice. "The photos in the file were great. You were a beautiful dame, Peggy. One in a million."
He paused again, noticing for the first time that his face was wet, tears mixing with the rain just starting to fall from the heavy sky above him. "I didn't read too much into it, that felt wrong. But I wanted to make sure you were alright. Looks like you were."
"I tried to end it, Peggy. When they told me about you. But I can't leave my new team, I guess I'm responsible for them now. Just doesn't seem worth it without you." The captain's shoulders sagged with the admission, falling closer to the headstone.
As the water seeped into the ground around him and ran in rivulets down his face and down the collar of his coat, the American soldier looked up into the weeping English sky. "I miss you Peggy. And one day, I will see you again and give you that dance."
Steve Rogers stood, ignoring the mud dripping from his jeans and slowly picked his way back to the gates at the entrance to the cemetery. He stood at the gate, looking back at the last physical reminder of his first love.
"Goodbye, Peggy." He walked back to the old bike, swung himself into the seat and clipped the helmet onto his head, the strap saturated with rain mixing with tears. A quiet rumble brought the vehicle to life and Steve looked back one more time.
For a split second, he could almost believe he saw her, all glamour, with a smile just for him.
He smiled back, but when he blinked, she was gone. He turned his wheels toward the road, and quietly faded away into the rain.
I will follow you into the dark
A/N- So yeah, this was a plot monkey that bit me and refused to let go. The song is "I Will Follow You into the Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie. Doesn't matter if pre or post Avengers. For those of you reading my other fic For Love of the Sea, I have not abandoned it, just got a little stuck. I will be posting for that soon.
There was a darker version of this I was toying with before this came out, so if you want, I can do that version too. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated.
Your obedient servant,
Arda's Angel