Chapter 5

Steve stepped out of the portal onto a quiet residential street and looked around.

The street was strewn with fallen leaves, and the air was crisp and chill. It was early morning, with the sun only just peeking over the horizon. Steve was facing a small beige house with a maple tree in the front yard, half its leaves still clinging to the branches. There was an icebox sitting on the front porch, next to the door. His heart beat a little faster. This was it. This was the place. Wheaton, New Jersey, not far from Camp Lehigh, where even now S.H.I.E.L.D. was being created, step by step.

He heard a thump not far away, and looked down the sidewalk to see a milkman strolling away from him with his handled box full of clinking bottles, having just delivered his wares to the little blue house next door.

"Hey, mister! Heads up!"

Steve turned to see a boy riding a bicycle toward him from the other direction. Quickly he stepped onto the front lawn, out of the way. As the boy whizzed past, he reached into the bag slung across his body and threw a rolled-up newspaper in Steve's direction. The toss was wild, heading straight for the roof, but instinctively Steve leapt up and caught it one-handed.

Startled by the unexpected feat, the boy wobbled on his bike and nearly fell off, but managed to get his wheels straight again and, after casting one last curious look in Steve's direction, pedaled furiously away.

Steve looked down at the newspaper he was clutching and unfolded it, searching for the date at the top of the page.

October 1, 1945.

He frowned. Why had the Ancient One sent him here so late? By now the war was over. He had been missing for months. Peggy must think him dead by now. Why...?

Then he remembered Peggy's grief, the day he had visited her home and she'd had a memory lapse, forgetting that Steve had ever been found alive. Her distress had been deep, and completely unfeigned.

She had to believe me dead, he realized. She had to grieve me. It had to be real. And now we'll have one more thing in common. We both know the emptiness of life without the other.

Steve was still frowning at the newspaper when he heard the grating of a screen door and the clink of a glass bottle. He looked up to see that a woman in a black blouse and skirt had emerged from the beige house and opened the icebox. She was just straightening up with a milk bottle in each hand.

Their eyes met.

Peggy.

His lips formed the word, but no sound came out. He stood there frozen, and she stared at him, face blank at first, then her eyes suddenly widening in shock.

The milk bottles slipped out of her hands and shattered on the front porch, glass shards and milk exploding across her shoes and dripping down the steps.

"Peggy..." Steve said, and he found that he could move. He strode toward her, and she shakily made her way down the steps, heels crunching in the broken glass. In moments they reached each other, Steve reaching out to steady her. She put her hands on his chest, leaning on him for support as she wobbled slightly.

"Steve?" she said in disbelief, eyes searching his face hungrily. "You're... you're alive! You came back! You came back..." A sob closed off her throat, and a flood of tears overflowed her eyes.

"Well, I couldn't leave my best girl, now could I?" he said, eager to soothe her, but unable to stop a tear from spilling down his own cheek in response.

"I thought you were dead," she blurted out shakily. "I can't believe it, I can't..." She shook her head wildly. "I didn't let myself hope. Oh, Steve..."

She threw her arms around him and pressed her wet cheek against his. They stayed that way for a long time, until finally Peggy pulled back to look at him. Steve smiled a little, and reached up to push a wave of hair back from her eyes, wanting to get a good look at her.

The tears were ruining her makeup and the black dress she was wearing did not suit her at all, but all Steve could think was that Peggy was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He was seized with a sudden impulse, and before he could stop himself, he bent down and kissed her.

She froze, dark eyes fixed on him.

"Sorry," Steve said quickly, a little dismayed at himself. "I didn't mean to do that so fast."

They stared at each other for a long moment. And then suddenly he was kissing her again, hard, and she was kissing him back, their arms wrapping desperately around each other like they would never let go.

Finally, bit by bit, they came back to the real world and pulled apart. Peggy held him by the shoulders and shook him a little, half-laughing, half-crying.

"Do you have any idea how long it's been?" She seemed torn between joy and fury. "Why didn't you call? Why didn't you write me? Where have you been?"

"I came as soon as I could," Steve said soothingly. "I know. It's been a long, long time."

"Six months," Peggy said indignantly. "You've been gone six months!"

"Longer," Steve said seriously. "A lifetime."

The front door to the house next door opened, and a man came out in his bathrobe to collect his milk bottles. Steve took Peggy by the elbow. "Inside," he said quickly, not wanting to be seen. She permitted him to lead her inside, stepping over the smashed remnants of the milk bottles on the porch.

"We have to call everyone," Peggy said eagerly once they were inside. "Colonel Phillips... and Howard... do you realize he has people in the Arctic right now, looking for Schmidt's plane? For you?" She started to move toward the phone on the wall.

"No," Steve said quickly, catching her by the arm again. "No, Peg, don't call them. I came to see you."

"But I'm supposed to go into work anyway," she said, glancing at the clock on the mantelpiece. "I have a meeting with them, and I'm about to be late..."

"Call in sick. Don't say anything about me. We need to talk."

Peggy appraised him for a moment. "All right," she said simply. He had almost forgotten how much her trust meant to him.

She made the call, and then looked at him expectantly as soon as she had hung up the receiver.

"This will be the first and last time I keep you from your work," Steve said.

"About that... I have so much to tell you, too," Peggy said eagerly. "My work has been changing since the war ended. We aren't just the SSR anymore. We're expanding our scope, bringing in more than just your country and mine. Our idea is to create a worldwide organization to protect the peace, so that we never have to fight a world war again. Hydra may be gone, but that doesn't mean something like it couldn't arise again. Next time, we mean to be ready."

"I couldn't be prouder of you," Steve said.

"We're naming it S.H.I.E.L.D.," she said. "In honor of you."

A thrill of anticipation went through him. It was going to be a pleasure, being here to watch Peggy give birth to S.H.I.E.L.D. True, one day he would have to tear it apart, at least for a time, but not before it had cultivated leaders like Nick Fury and Phil Coulson and Maria Hill. Scientists like Hank and Janet Pym and Erik Selvig. Operatives like Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff. Good people who would defend the Earth from anything that might threaten it.

Not before it had given rise to the Avengers themselves. One day Peggy's work would lead directly to Thanos' downfall.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Peggy said with a puzzled laugh.

"Because I'm not the shield," Steve said quietly. "You are."

They settled down on the couch, and Peggy looked at him expectantly.

"You owe me a story," she said.

"It's a strange story," Steve said.

"Stranger than me making you a science experiment?"

Steve smiled a little, enjoying the ephemeral glimpse of her dimple he had just caught. "Do you remember that legend of a man who went to sleep in a clearing and when he woke up, it was 20 years later and he found out he'd slept through the whole Civil War?"

"Rip Van Winkle," Peggy said. "Yes." Her eyes smiled up at him. "But you didn't miss the whole war, Steve. Only the end."

"And you've seen 'The Wizard of Oz?' Where Dorothy traveled to a strange land, and all she wanted was to go back home, but it took her a long, long time to get there?"

Peggy laughed shortly. "Steve, don't you dare tell me you've been in Oz all this time," she teased.

He forged ahead. "And you know that old story by H.G. Wells, about a man who built a time machine and went to the future?"

"I always hated that story," Peggy said. "It depressed me. Steve, stop being so dramatic. For heaven's sake, tell me where you've been." She took his hand in hers.

"I am telling you," Steve said. "The things that happened to me while I was gone were... fantastical. I'm not sure if you'll be able to believe me."

"I always believe you," Peggy said, reaching up to smooth back a strand of his hair. "At least, you've never lied to me before. Don't start now." She kissed his cheek.

Steve took a deep breath. "I want to show you something," he said. He fished around in his pocket until he found it. "Hold out your hand." He dropped the item into her open palm. She looked down at it, and then back up at him.

"A dime?" Peggy said.

"Look at it."

Peggy studied the face on the coin and raised her eyebrows.

"President Roosevelt," she said in surprise. "I read about this in the newspaper a few months ago. They said they were going to honor him with a new design. I hadn't realized they were already in circulation."

"They aren't. Look at the date," Steve said.

She did.

"1979..." Peggy said. She looked up at him, confused. "Steve, what is this? Where did you get this?"

"Peggy, I crashed my plane into the ocean."

"Yes, I know."

"I survived the crash. I should have died, but I didn't. I went to sleep in the ice. I slept there for a long time. The people who found me thought they were recovering a body. It must have scared the wits out of them when I turned out to be still alive."

"The serum..." Peggy said slowly. "It must have been the serum. We didn't realize it would affect you that way. When we didn't find you after a few days, we all assumed..." Her eyes grew moist.

"...the worst," Steve finished softly.

"How long were you there?" Peggy asked in wonderment. "Under the ice? Not this whole time, surely."

"A long time." He laughed humorlessly. "Longer than 'all this time.' More than a year."

Her face grew serious, eyes widening. "What do you mean?" she asked slowly. "It's October now. You only went missing in March."

He took her by the shoulders and spoke slowly, knowing how this would sound to her. "Peggy... I was sleeping in the ice for 66 years."

She stared at him for a long time, confusion in her eyes. She clearly sensed his sincerity, but how could she not doubt him? Peggy spoke carefully in a low voice. "Steve... you're scaring me."

"I was scared, too," he whispered.

"Sixty-six years..." Peggy's eyes darted around his face. "That isn't possible."

"I thought that, too. It was like... a bad nightmare, only I couldn't wake up from it."

"You were dreaming," Peggy said, with the air of a woman grasping at straws. "You dreamed under the ice. The serum... People weren't meant to survive something like that. It must have affected your mind."

"No," Steve said firmly. "I lived there, in 2011. And 2012, and 2013, and..." He swallowed. "I had to. There was no way to get back to you. I had to stay. I lived there for 12 years. And I missed you... more than you can know."

Peggy wasn't bothering to hide her rising panic. "But... Steve..."

"You're holding the coin," Steve said.

She had forgotten. She held it up between shaking fingers, staring at the date, and then staring back up at him.

"How did you get this?" she demanded fiercely. "How did you get it, really?"

"The same way everyone else gets them in the future," Steve said. "I bought a soda. They gave me change."

Peggy breathed quickly. "But if you... if you slept for 66 years, you would still be asleep. Right now."

"I am," Steve said. "I am sleeping in the ice right now. I'm also here, because I came back to you."

He launched into an explanation of the Quantum Tunnel, trying to keep it as simple as possible. There was no need to go into the Avengers or Thanos. He'd known all along he would have to be careful about how much he told her. It was a difficult task, explaining the time theory, as there wasn't much in their shared 1930s education that could have prepared either one of them to understand these concepts, but Peggy was obviously doing her best to keep up. It was hard to tell at first if she completely believed him, though she certainly seemed to be trying to.

Finally, though, she seemed to accept his explanation, as incredible as it was.

"You do look different," she said slowly, putting her fingers under his chin and turning his face to the side, looking him over. "You do seem older..."

"Does it bother you?" he asked.

She shook her head quickly. "You're back. That's all I prayed for. Nothing else really matters, does it?"

"I've loved you at every age you've ever been," he said gently.

She smiled at him sweetly, holding eye contact for a long moment, drinking him in. Until slowly, her smile started to fade and a slow fear crept across her face.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I can't bear to think of you under the ice, all alone," she said, and the growing horror in her eyes underscored her words. "Steve... we have to go get you. We have to tell Howard where to look!"

"We can't do that," Steve said urgently. "You have to leave me right where I am. We can't tell Howard anything, or anyone else, either."

"What? Why?" Peggy demanded.

"Because if you take me out of the ice now, I'll never make it to the future, and that means I'll never be able to come back to you."

Peggy was growing more confused by the minute. "But you'll be here. I'll have saved you."

"No, Peg... if I don't end up in the future, bad things will happen. Bad things that I helped stop. We can't be selfish. We can't undo what I did in that time." He brushed a wave of dark hair back from her face. "I have so much more to tell you. Everything will make sense then, I promise." He leaned forward and kissed her again, gently touching her face with his fingertips. It turned out to be a good distraction for the both of them, and they spent the next few minutes explaining to each other again just how much they had missed each other.

Finally Peggy pulled away from him a little, looking down self-consciously. "I must look a mess." She took a handkerchief out of her sleeve and dabbed under her eyes, looking ruefully at the black smears it left behind. "I've spoiled my eye makeup, crying so much."

Steve smiled and used his thumb to rub a spot at the corner of her lips. "And I've spoiled your lipstick, kissing you so much."

Peggy laughed a little shakily. "I think that's the only reason I believe this whole crazy story. You used to be afraid to kiss me. I used to get so annoyed with you because you wouldn't make a move. I suppose you finally learned a few bloody things about women while you were gone."

"Only a few," Steve said. "You still have a lot left to teach me."

Peggy shot him a strange look, her lips curving up in a hint of a smile, and then she got up from the couch. "I'm going to freshen up. I'll be right back." She started to walk energetically up the stairs, heels clicking rapidly, and then turned back. "You won't disappear again?"

"I'm not going anywhere," he promised.

While Peggy was gone, Steve strolled over to the player and idly went through the stack of records by it, looking at the covers. It was like looking at a scrapbook of his childhood. So many bands and songs from long ago. So many memories associated with each one.

He pulled one out for a better look: Harry James and His Orchestra. There was a price tag on the corner that read $1.25. Steve shook his head, feeling cheated. He'd paid a lot more than that at the antique store for his copy, and it had been scratched, too. Then it had taken him a few weeks to find a player for it that actually worked. He pulled the record out and slid it onto the rod. He switched the player on and swung over the arm, placing the stylus in its track. Tinny music started to play, an upbeat jazz tune.

He had listened to a few songs before Peggy came back down the stairs. Steve looked up at her, and smiled deeply. She had done more than just fix her makeup. She had changed out of the black dress and into a red one.

"Wow," he said, and he meant it.

Peggy smoothed down the skirt of her dress a little nervously. "I haven't worn color in six months," she said. "My friends kept telling me that wearing mourning was going out of fashion."

"I like old fashions," Steve said. "But you look beautiful in red." He held out one hand toward her. "Come over here, Peggy. Teach me how to dance."

She looked at him in surprise. "Now?"

"If there's one thing that I've learned, it's that there's no time like the present."

Smiling, she took his hands. "All right. This hand here, and this hand here."

"Like this?"

"Yes, that's not bad." She started to sway back and forth, and he did his best to copy her. "Are you telling me that in 12 years, you really never went dancing?" Peggy asked then.

"Of course not. I was waiting for the right partner."

He immediately stepped on her foot.

"Sorry," he said hastily. "Should have chosen a slower song. Forgot about that part."

"You are heavier than you look," Peggy said, wincing, but she was laughing too. "Maybe this would go better if I let you lead now."

They managed to get through the rest of the song without incident. It really wasn't as hard as he had once feared. Of course, being with Peggy made everything easier.

A new song had started, one that Steve had listened to so many times he had it memorized.

"Lesson number two," Peggy told him. "If the person you're dancing with is your best girl, and if you think she would like it, you are allowed to hold her a little closer."

"Closer than this?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"Well... if you insist."

He slid his arm further across her back and pulled her in closer. He did not step on her feet. Willingly, Peggy leaned against him, her warm forehead coming to rest against his cheek.

Together, they swayed back and forth. It was like being in their own private paradise. The music filling his soul, the feel of her in his arms, the smell of her hair... She belonged to him, and he to her.

He pulled back a little, wanting to see into her eyes. Peggy smiled at him sweetly, and slowly, gently, he kissed her again.

Never thought that you would be
standing here so close to me
there's so much I feel that I should say
but words can wait until some other day

Kiss me once, then kiss me twice
Then kiss me once again
It's been a long, long time
Haven't felt like this, my dear

Since I can't remember when
It's been a long, long time
You'll never know how many dreams
I've dreamed about you

Or just how empty they all seemed without you
So kiss me once, then kiss me twice
Then kiss me once again
It's been a long, long time.

Author's note: The story feels like it could end here, like the movie did. But I also thought I wanted to show more of the reunion of old Steve with the Avengers, as they find out what he did with his life in the past. Do you want to read something like that, or do you feel it should end here? Please share your thoughts in the comments!