Steve Rogers stood on an empty rooftop in New York City, the remaining Infinity Stones a heavy burden in his hands. The method of time-travel they had developed gave him as much time as needed to return each stone, which was useful given the imprecision of the time-targeting. However, the waiting for the right moment allowed his mind to wander. And, as always, his thoughts turned to Bucky.
Steve closed his eyes against the memory of the acceptance, the resignation on Bucky's face when Steve had departed on this mission. Steve knew Bucky well enough to have caught a glimpse of heartbreak in his eyes before warmth and encouragement took hold in them.
Bucky thought Steve wasn't coming back. And Steve couldn't tell him differently, because this mission might not permit him to return. The stakes were too high, and Steve knew he might need to make the sacrifice play. He hoped he wouldn't have to. He had spent the last five years not living. He wanted to get his life started again, even though it would be different than he had envisioned, without Nat and Tony a part of it.
"You aren't supposed to be here. Where is Doctor Banner?"
The slender bald woman radiated a strength Steve knew not to underestimate. He inclined his head to her politely. "We thought it would be better to only risk one life on the return mission, ma'am."
"I know who you are. There are three of you in NYC right now. Do not delay." She held out her hand. "Any lingering will cause this timeline to fracture. A timeline isn't built to hold more than one version of any individual at a time without magic greater than I am capable of to hold it together."
Steve brought the green Time Stone out of a pocket, having left the case back on Asgard while avoiding the palace guards. He handed it over to the Ancient One, and she slipped it into the pendant around her neck.
"Did your gambit work?"
"Yes."
"Did Strange survive?"
"Yes."
She favored him with a small smile. "You'd better leave while you're still winning."
"Yes, thank you, ma'am."
Steve started inputting the next set of coordinates into the device on his wrist.
"Captain Rogers, I know you're tempted, but be careful with the power you're playing with. The universe itself is still at risk."
"Didn't you meddle when you allowed Banner to leave with the Time Stone?"
"I was trusting in the man I knew would eventually hold onto the knowledge of time and the nature of reality. You, my young man, are going with your gut."
"Served me well so far."
She cocked her head. "Are you so sure? I do recall you were just defrosted a few weeks ago."
Steve decided he liked her. "That just means I'm a survivor."
"Good luck. Don't fuck it up too much."
Steve pressed the targeting button.
The Time Stone was safely where it belonged, leaving only one more stone in his pocket.
But before he returned the Soul Stone, Steve had one more stop to make.
Peggy opened up the door, gun in hand and aimed at Steve. "Who the hell are you?"
Strong, fierce, radiant. He could not help but smile. She hadn't changed a bit from his memories.
Smiling did not alleviate her concerns, as she demanded, "Tell me now."
"Peggy, it's me." Steve held up his empty hands in front of him. "Please let me in, and I can explain."
Peggy took the safety off and cocked the hammer. "I know how to use this."
"I know." Steve laughed as he remembered. "My shield took quite the beating from you before it got its first paint job."
"Steve? Is it really you?" Peggy lowered the gun and removed her finger from the trigger. "Oh my god, Steve."
She backed away from the door to allow him inside her home.
"You're alive?"
"Yes, but…. It's complicated."
She stopped in front of him as they reached the kitchen and gently touched his cheek. "You look older."
"That's because I am."
A shared pot of tea later, Steve had told Peggy all he felt comfortable enough to say. That he was from the future, that everything turns out okay not only for him, but for her.
"I'm afraid to tell you too much. It could change your future."
"Would that be so awful?"
"You live a good life, Peggy. You do great things." Steve paused for a moment. "You live a happy, fulfilling life."
"And you?"
Steve exhaled sharply. "It takes me awhile, but I get there eventually."
"Do you have any regrets?"
So many. Where do I start? "Well, we never did have that dance."
Peggy stood and walked over to a record player. After dropping the needle, she held out her hand. "Shall we?"
One last kiss. One first and last dance.
"I should go."
"So soon?"
"I've been here too long. Just my presence could be altering the timeline."
Peggy fixed him in place with a piercing stare. "Steven Grant Rogers, I know you too well. If the mission is as important as you say, you would not risk the outcome on a whim. Impulsive, yes, but you've never been selfish when it comes to getting a mission done. What has caused you to take such a desperate risk this time?" Her eyes widened, obviously recalling his most selfish mission, his most formative decision, the one that truly made him Captain America. "No, it can't be."
"Yes. Bucky's alive, Peggy. He's alive, and he's being tortured even as we speak." Steve's hands trembled as he brought two envelopes out of his pocket. "Here are the coordinates of where Bucky is being held right now. After this, his whereabouts are hard to pin down for the next two decades. You have to save him, Peggy. What they are doing to him, it's so awful."
"But wouldn't saving him change the future?"
"Yes, and I don't care."
"Steve..."
"We should have looked for him. I should have looked for him."
"There was no way we could have expected him to survive that fall."
At this point, Steve grew angry at Peggy. "But you should have. By now, you should have figured it out."
"Fuck, it was Zola, wasn't it?" Frustration filled Peggy's voice. "When he experimented on Barnes in Azzano?"
Steve nodded. "He was working on the serum. It worked on Bucky, to a certain extent. Enough to keep him from dying from the fall."
"I knew that bastard was holding back, but Phillips was convinced he got everything from him. He even works with us now."
"I know."
Peggy heard all of the recriminations in his voice. "Steve, there was no way we could have known."
"Isn't there? Shouldn't we have guessed?" Tears began to spill down his cheeks, safe in the presence of the only person who'd ever seen him cry about Bucky. "I should have been able to reach him. I never should have let him fall. I should have thrown myself after him. I should have..."
Peggy put a soothing hand on his shoulder as he struggled to regain his composure. After a few moments, she asked, "What's in the second envelope?"
"Me." As Peggy's eyes filled with hope, Steve stopped her. "But only if you find him. Promise me you'll leave me in the ice if you don't find him. Because if you can't rescue him now, he'll need me in the future."
"If we find him and rescue you, won't that irrevocably alter the future?"
"If you knew what they were doing to him… what they are going to make him do… It's worth it. The risk to the future is worth it."
"But Steve…"
"Trust me on this. And promise me, Peggy. Please, I'm begging you."
Steve watched the turmoil on Peggy's beautiful face, but she eventually said, "I promise."
Steve heaved a sigh of relief. He knew he could trust her to keep her word to him. "Thank you." He embraced her and kissed her forehead. "Thank you so much."
He stood up and began to walk towards the front door. "I have to go."
"Don't forget to return my next-door neighbor's clothes." Peggy smiled through her tears.
"Right back on the clothesline where I found them."
Peggy stood behind him as he reached for the door handle. "Goodbye, my darling."
"Not goodbye. We'll see each other again. Until then." Steve bent down and kissed her hand. As he turned the door handle, Peggy reached out to grab his elbow.
"Steve?"
He turned to look at her one last time. He wanted to memorize her every feature. In his future, or more properly, his present, she was dead. It was breaking his heart to leave her, but they had already lived the end of their story. These few moments were a miraculous bonus to be treasured.
"Is Barnes waiting for you in the future? In your future?"
Steve thought of Bucky, waiting by the time platform. Healthy, whole, sad, and beautiful.
"Yeah, he is."
"Tell him I'm counting on him to keep you in line."
"He's the only one who ever could."
"I know." Peggy's voice held a wealth of understanding. Steve wondered if she knew, if she'd always known. "Be well, Steve. Good luck."
"Thank you, Peg. For everything."
Steve walked away and didn't look back. He had one last mission.
Steve expected to see some sort of wraith when he arrived on Vormir, but he was unprepared to face Red Skull. For a moment, he was back in the Forties. He could feel the blast of heat in the fiery explosion in Azzano, the chill of the icy ocean reaching up towards his crashing plane. He shook his head to clear his thoughts of those memories. He had to be in top form, because this foe was more formidable to him than his fellow Avengers could have foreseen.
"Captain Steven Grant Rogers, son of Sarah, son of Joseph. I have been waiting for you."
"Then you know what I'm here for."
"You are here to return the Soul Stone."
"Yes."
"You have to return the Stone exactly when it was taken."
"I mean to."
"To do so, you must enter the Soul World itself. To do so, you must sacrifice something you love."
Steve had prepared for this part, based on what Clint had told him about what happened with Nat. He knew returning the Soul Stone might require a terrible transaction. Steve was prepared to give up something he loved. He also knew he was a horrible liar, so he had to tell the truth.
"I just left Peggy Carter behind in the 1940s, even though I could have remained there to live a life with her."
It was all true.
"And you love her."
"Yes." It was true. It was a truth of his life that he loved Peggy Carter.
The Red Skill smiled. "You forget, Captain, that I know you from before."
In the mist, an image formed. Red Skull conjured Steve in the Valkyrie, ready to give up his life.
"My essence was being incorporated into the Soul World and bore witness to your actions. You put the plane in the water, Captain. You did not fight to survive to be with Agent Margaret Elizabeth Carter."
The image in the mist changed, and Steve gasped. He could see himself next to Bucky across the raging inferno in Azzano. "But for him, Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, you fought an entire army by yourself, just in the hope he was alive. And alive he is, is he not? Waiting for you to return to your place and time?"
Steve knew a lie would be disastrous, not just to him, but possibly to humanity, to the universe. He forced himself to admit the truth. "Yes."
"And that shall be your sacrifice, Captain Rogers. Your future with Sergeant Barnes."
The mist moved towards him and started to rise around Steve. I am so sorry, Buck.
Red Skull proclaimed, "And thus, the Soul Stone is restored."
Obscured by the fog and Steve's own regrets, a figure in green slipped away from the scene, to jump to 1949.
