All Previous Disclaimers Apply
A/N: It's been a while and this may seem like a jump, but when I came back to this story it felt right. If you're still reading, thank you for your patience with this.
"You okay, Captain?"
The use of the title was such a shock to his system that for a minute Steve wasn't able to respond to the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent across the Quinjet from him, checking and rechecking his weapons and tactical gear. Steve looked at the man, realized in an absent way just how young the man actually was, probably a level one or two agent, just recruited after not quite fitting into the military hierarchy or even recruited directly just out of high school, and gave a tight nod as he looked down at his own gear and uniform. He held his arm in front of him with the pretense of checking that his gauntlet was appropriately tightened, but in reality, trying to reconcile seeing it on his arm again. He had meant it when he had sworn that he would never be Captain America again unless the world was in such danger that The Captain could actually make a difference. He'd found, over his time at Xavier's, that he was a man of peace, that he wanted to remain a man of peace, raising his children, teaching others. He'd never thought that he would have to become a man of violent action again, no matter what the rest of the world thought.
James, Charles, and the rest of his friends both at the mansion and at Avengers Tower had tried to protect him from the news stories that had aired intermittedly after he'd retired his position. The news stories where reporters questioned his bravery, questioned his egotism, questioned his loyalty to his country and, indeed, to the world that he could simply abandon his post protecting them. While no one thought he even knew about them, he'd listened to every single radio interview. The interviews where some high ranking general or other made noises that he would be searched out for court-martialing and jailing, perhaps even summary execution, seeing as he had gone AWOL, leaving his country without needed protection, seeing as he had never actually been dismissed or retired from the military. In many ways, he himself was a weapon that belonged to the government and dismissing himself was akin to treason. He would be found and put on trial as an enemy agent. After all, he had to be if he wasn't protecting the American people as he'd once sworn to. He'd let himself listen to each of the interviews, rather than avoiding them as if they didn't exist, let their vitriol was over him and allowed himself to feel the guilt for just a moment before he let it wash away.
His husband, his friends, even S.H.I.E.L.D., had known that he wasn't meant to be a lifelong soldier. They had all seen that he had served, and served well. They'd all seen and known that he deserved to rest. None of them thought less of him and he couldn't allow the opinions of those who didn't actually know him to make him fell less of a man. He'd had many conversations with Charles on the topic. It was no small thing to encourage things to grow, be it young minds, or things in the earth. And he'd found his place, and his honor, in doing just that. The soldier, The Captain, was the least of who he had been, and it as his right as a man to dismiss him. Those who knew him and knew him well loved him for who he was, not who they thought he should be, and they supported his decision to never again put on his battle armor.
But, then the nightmare that had been lurking in the back of his mind since The Battle of New York had finally come to pass. The being who had controlled the Chitauri, who had controlled Loki…Thanos…had finally come to Earth. The wise had feared his appearance since that day, since Loki's confession that he'd been given control of the army from the most powerful being he had ever seen. What kind of power did the being they all feared have to wield to have the loyalty of an army he had been willing to sacrifice in a bid that Loki informed them had not been, in truth, an invasion? Thanos had not expected Earth to fall to the Chitauri and an Asgardian princeling with a mind so unstable that Thanos had been able to break it and invade it with no trouble. Thanos had sent an army to Earth, an entire civilization dedicated to him, to test Earth, to find out what kind of defenses Earth had, what kind of warriors he could expect when he finally made his bid for power. And the Chitauri were the least of his warriors. A hive minded people whose queen had been swayed with promises of riches and power. When she and her people had perished in the nuclear explosion that had ended the battle Thanos had not mourned, nor had he worried.
Nick Fury and Phil Coulson had spent all of the years since trying to prepare the planet for what they'd all known was coming, but it had been hard when the World Security Council had fought them every step of the way. They weren't as prepared as they wanted to be for the battle that they knew was for nothing less than the fate of their planet. But, luckily S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers weren't the only ones fighting. The battle had been raging for days, destroying most of Manhattan, which had been as evacuated as it could be days before. New Yorkers were stubborn, but they knew when it was time to get out and let the chips fall where they may. Civilian casualties had been kept to a minimum. Other casualties were growing by the day.
He'd watched, for days, from the mansion where he, Storm, now heavily pregnant, Kurt, Jubilee and a handful of others, not quite grown and ready to be full X-Men, had stayed behind with the children to take care of them, protect them if needed. It had been a strange mix of pride and terror that rested in his chest as he saw the news reports that didn't stop coming in. The Avengers, S.H.E.I.L.D., and the X-Men had been joined by the Fantastic Four, Spiderman, the Daredevil, Dr. Strange and his sorcerers, and any other number of powered individuals that Steve didn't have a name for, all of them fighting to save their world. And more kept pouring in as if from around the world, knowing just what was a stake. Even those who had once been enemies became allies in the fight. Magneto and the Brotherhood, Mr. Sinister, even warriors of the Hand were fighting alongside those they'd previously fought against. Two days before the Bifrost had deposited Thor, Sif, the Warriors Three, and a large number of Asgardian warriors on the ground to provide support. The next day a ship had arrived carrying strange men and women, a raccoon and walking tree, that called themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy. The Earth was coming together to fight the evil that threatened it.
And they were losing. They were losing ground. They were losing warriors. The situation was becoming dire. There was nothing less that would have gotten him to put the suit back on again and, truly, he didn't want to fight, but one look into the eyes of his little girls, and the others he had taken on as his own had decided him. His comfort, his sanity even, if it came to that, was nothing in comparison to their lives. The most important thing to him was their lives. So, when the S.H.E.I.L.D. helicopter had landed on the grounds and the young man had gotten out to present his with his uniform and shield he had taken them without a word. With every piece of armor that he'd put on, he'd felt Steve fall away to be replaced by The Captain. And it was The Captain who had kissed his children goodbye quickly, not able to let his heart break at the way his girls were crying out for him or the tears that streamed from Jubilee and Kurt's eyes as they held them back. If it meant saving their lives The Captain knew that he would break their hearts.
"We're going to drop you just on the Brooklyn side of the bridge, Captain. There's a war center set up there. Director Fury and the Prof are set up there."
"Be nice to be home," Steve said, with a cocky grin.
The young man grinned back at him and Steve said a quick prayer that he would survive before he jumped out of the hovering Quinjet and strode into the command tent that had been set up.
"Captain," Nick Fury nodded at him, his face grim and drawn. Charles look serene and out together as he always did, but Steve could see the tension in him in the way his hands were clenched so tightly on his wheelchair's arms.
"Director Fury, Professor Xavier," He nodded and spent precious time with them, reviewing the battle, where people were stationed, who was currently resting as well as they could, and the casualties list. It was long, but thankfully most of the listed were wounded and not KIA. He had to lock down his heart when he saw the names of friends, family, on the list. Clint, who probably wouldn't walk again, Vision dead, Peter, so young and in a coma, not expected to live, Wong dead. He closed his eyes so that he could get his mind right and then opened them again. At this point there was no more strategy. There couldn't be. There were only two goals. Keep the battle contained to Manhattan and kill Thanos. Trying to obtain those two goals were the only they had and Steve could understand that. He nodded to two of the men he respected as commanding officers, shook both of their hands in case there wasn't another opportunity to do so, and left the tent.
He had to fight his way to the center of the battle where the Avengers and the core X-Men were engaging with Thanos and his honor guard directly. His husband was engaged with the one called The Maw, a wizard of the highest order it seemed, and he was fighting as hard as he could, but he didn't have magic. For the first time that he could remember, Steve threw his shield with the intent to kill. When he'd fought before, even the Chitauri, he'd fought to wound, to disable, it wasn't in him to kill, but seeing his husband forced to the ground, a blade imbedded in his gut, he saw red. The Maw was so focused on killing James that he never even turned as the shield slammed into his head, making a disgusting crunching noise as it broke bone. He walked over to James and held out his hand.
"Steve," James looked at him with grief and worry in his eyes.
"The kids are safe," Steve said, slipping it out, needing to keep the veneer of The Captain more than anything at that moment, "Let's make sure it stays that way."
James, as always understood what he needed, as his eyes hardened and he nodded decisively. Needing it, they let the warriors loose for just a moment so they could share a passionate kiss, perhaps the last they ever would, and then they turned back to the battle.
Thor would later liken them to berserkers as they made their way to Thanos, cutting down all enemies in their path as if they were nothing. The videos were almost too violent, even for the war for the planet and after all was said and done there were only two clips of Captain America and the Wolverine that were played when remembrance films were made, when there were ceremonies honoring and mourning those who fought and died to save their planet. The first was of the two of them, running side by side, matching step for step, their faces echoing a grim determination. The other clip was almost never shown, as it was agreed that it was a private moment, and no one really had the right, but someone had recorded it anyway. Just as Loki had finally appeared and joined the battle, throwing all of the magic he had into engaging Thanos directly, even as he knew he had no hope to win against him and the three Infinity Stones he'd gathered in his gauntlet, just as Thor was begging his brother to break off, to save himself, not sacrifice himself, the Captain had put all of his strength, joined by The Winter Soldier, into trying to get the gauntlet off. Thanos had shook them off and finally, backhanded Captain America with all of his might, sending him flying, and his body down onto three thick, sharp pieces of mangled metal, that went straight through the strong body.
Seeing this Loki had redoubled his efforts and Thor had managed to finally pull the gauntlet off just as the Wolverine pushed his claws into Thanos' chest and The Winter Soldier broke the Mad Titan's neck. The battle ended quickly after, the only ones left willing to fight were the ones who still considered themselves Thanos' children. The others had fled the Earth as fast as their fleets could carry them. And then came the clean-up. The first cries of grief were from Thor as he made his way to his brother's side, and picked up his broken body before calling the Bi-Frost down to him to carry the younger Prince of Asgard home.
Then, there was a roar, so mournful, so angry that many had to cover their ears. The only cameraman that had managed to survive in the battle center had turned the camera just in time to see the Wolverine using his adamantium claws to free Captain America from the metal that had penetrated his body. Then he'd sat on the ground, roaring out his grief as he shielded the Captains body and rocked it slowly back and forth. The Winter Soldier had fallen to his knees next to them and put a hand on the grieving man's back as the clip slowly faded to black.
A/N: This is not the end.