2025/2018
2018
Like everyone else in the city that day, Lee saw the circular spaceship belonging to the Children of Thanos hanging in the sky. Unlike everyone else that day, an Avenger showed up at her door once the chaos had settled. Bruce had called Steve on the phone left for Tony to explain the situation, alert him of the threat of Thanos, and ask him to find and protect Vision. Steve immediately jumped to help but not before asking Bruce to check in on Lee to make sure she was safe, telling him where she lived and that she would know who he is. Bruce, having just returned from space, had no idea Steve had met someone and was happy for the captain, agreeing to check on her.
Lee was shocked at first when Bruce showed up at her apartment, knowing that he had been missing for a few years. She quickly realized he was the real Dr. Banner and invited him in for some tea as a respite before he continued on to the Compound. She had seen on the news that Tony was missing and had been scrambling to figure out what to do, scared for the safety of her boss and friend. Bruce was able to tell her more about Tony being on the spaceship that left Earth, which didn’t do much to ease her worry. He also told her what he could of the situation beyond Tony and that he had spoken to Steve but was unsure if he was coming back to New York soon. They continued to talk and got to know each other as she filled him in on the details of the Accords and the fight between the Avengers that had occurred in his absence that neither Tony nor Steve had time to tell him much about. Before he left, Bruce promised to convey that she was safe to Steve, and that she understood whatever was going on took priority if he did return.
The problem with loving Captain America was that the safety of the world took priority over their relationship, but Lee knew what she had gotten herself into right from the very first day they met. Her heart had hurt for the past two years, so what was a little more time, if it meant the world could be protected?
~~~
Early the next morning, Lee was awoken by a knock at her door. She opened it to find a longer haired, bearded, and thoroughly disheveled Steve Rogers.
Steve cleared his throat awkwardly, gazing straight into Lee’s eyes, “Hi…”
He held his breath hoping his sudden appearance would be received well by his love he had abandoned.
Lee’s mouth dropped open in shock, not expecting Steve to show up so soon after Bruce’s visit the night before. Still processing if he was real or not, she stood to the side to allow him to enter her apartment. After he did, she took her time closing the door, a million conflicting emotions coursing through her at once: anger, frustration, sadness, disbelief, love, relief, happiness. When she turned around, he was looking at her with the saddest, most apologetic, and longing expression she had ever seen. At that, she broke, quickly closing the gap between them as she threw her arms around his neck and sobbed, choking out his name. His arms wrapped around her tightly in an attempt to make them feel like one again. Tears fell from Steve’s eyes as he whispered, “I’m sorry” and “I love you,” over and over as Lee wept in his embrace.
A few minutes later she started to pull back from him, moving her hands to caress his face and look into his eyes. He only relinquished his hold on her enough to give her the space to look at him, refusing to be separated from her any further than necessary knowing he was only going to be back in her arms for a short time before he had to leave again. Steve searched Lee’s eyes for any hesitation and, upon finding none, crashed his lips on to hers. She kissed him back in such a way that he felt her emotions pour into him. His mind flashed back to their first kiss in the very same apartment they were in now, feeling that spark just as fresh as it was that day. As much as he was enjoying the moment, he knew he was running out of time and needed to tell her what was going on.
He reluctantly broke the kiss, “We should sit down...”
His concerned and apologetic tone of voice threatened to break her heart again right there and then, unsure if she could handle whatever bad news was going to follow.
She nodded and he guided them to her couch, arm around her waist. Lee sat down with her legs tucked under her so she could face sideways to look at Steve as he sat facing forward, holding one of her hands in his lap as she ran her other hand through his hair.
“Before you say whatever it is you need to say, just know that I understand. Reading your letter confirmed what I had already thought, and I understand, even though you leaving broke my heart,” Lee whispered, occupying herself with his hair while he kept his gaze on their intertwined hands.
He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it before looking at her, “I’m so sorry. You shouldn’t’ve had to go through that.”
Lee nodded, “I know, and you shouldn’t’ve had to make that kind of decision. It is what it is.”
Steve gave her a soft smile as she braced herself for news of what the Avengers were facing presently.
“I’m leave again. I don’t know for how long. Thanos is coming for the stone that keeps Vision alive. This guy is powerful and if he gets his hands on that stone along with others like it, he could do horrible things to the universe,” Steve told Lee in a grave tone, his captain persona evident.
“Where are you going? To protect Vision and stops this Thanos person,” Lee queried.
“Wakanda. If you remember from the explosion at the UN, that’s where King T’Chaka was from and where his son T’Challa rules now.”
“And they will help you?”
Steve nodded, “Yes. They’ve been helping Bucky.”
Lee’s eyes went wide, “Is he okay? After all that happened, they wanted to help him?”
“Yes, T’Challa understands what Bucky went through and Wakanda has the knowledge and resources to help. That’s where he’s been this whole time.”
“Oh, I do hope they were able to help him, and that you can bring him home when all of this Thanos stuff is over. I can’t wait to meet the infamous Bucky Barnes,” Lee broke into a smile and gave the back of Steve’s neck a light squeeze at the thought of him reuniting with his friend and envisioning all being right with the world.
“I hope so too. We’ve got quite a fight ahead of us though…”
“How soon do you leave?”
“About an hour.”
Lee’s heart sank again, but she smiled and nodded at Steve reassuringly, nonetheless.
He saw straight through her and reached up to cup her face in his hand, “When this is over, I’m coming back to you. Forget Ross and his Accords. I’m done being kept from fighting for what’s right, and I need you by my side.”
“I love you, Steve. Please, don’t ever leave me like that again,” Lee told him as tears filled her eyes again.
“I love you, too. I’ll be back for you. Promise.”
Steve pulled her in for one last passionate kiss before he was off again to save the world.
2025
On a snowy, frozen evening in February, Lee was late coming back home from a day working in the city. Steve was on edge as she wasn’t answering texts and calls were going straight to voicemail. He tried to calm himself, telling himself she must have just been driving and unable to answer. But in his gut, he knew something wasn’t right. If she was going to be later than normal, she always let him know, and today he didn’t even receive a text saying she was on her way.
In a panic, he checks their in-case-of-emergency location sharing app to see her last ping was in the city hours ago. Her phone must be off, dead, or out of reach of signal which is not helping Steve’s nerves. He knows his girl can handle herself as he trains her in self-defense tactics so they both feel safer when she’s out on her own, but that doesn’t stop him from worrying, flashbacks of the last time he couldn’t reach her and thought he might have lost her threating to take over his mind.
As a last resort, he checks the tracker on her car for the first time, something he never does out of respect for her privacy and trust in her – it really is there just for emergencies. The map shows her location as being stopped not far from their home on the side of her usual route. Steve breathes out a sigh of relief seeing she is near, but quickly jumps into action knowing something must be wrong based on where she is stopped and that she still isn’t answering her phone. He calls their favorite neighbors to ask them to watch Lily while he goes to find his wife.
He drives as fast as he can safely, given the wintery conditions of the roads, periodically checking the tracker for any signs of movement. Arriving at the spot, he sees her car has its flashers going and is unceremoniously parked in snow-covered grass.
Lee sees the headlights of a vehicle pulling up behind her and prepares herself for potential danger. When Steve starts getting out of the car, his face is briefly illuminated by the excess light from the headlights before his frame is cast into shadow as he approaches her. All it takes is that brief glimpse in her rearview mirror to know it’s her husband showing up to help. She quickly gets out and runs to him.
“Steve!” Lee yells, moving as quickly as possible through the roadside slush and the falling snow into his arms.
“Honey? What’s wrong? Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Steve askes concernedly, holding her back at arm’s length to look her over for signs of harm after a quick embrace.
“I’m fine, but I got a flat tire, it’s so dark and the snow… there’s no phone signal here either. How did you know where I was?”
“I tracked your car after you hadn’t come home yet and weren’t answering your phone. I was afraid...” Steve trails off and pulls her back into his arms tightly, pressing kisses onto her head, “I’m so glad you’re okay and that I found you. You scared me, sweetheart.”
“I’m okay, Steve,” she pulls back enough to look into his eyes, the snowflakes collecting on the edges of his hair and beard, glowing in the dim light, “Are you okay?”
“I thought… I thought you might have… I might have…” he breaths out, unable to finish the thought, trying to keep the past out of his mind. He presses his forehead to hers to ground himself in the present.
“Oh, baby… I’m so sorry I’ve scared you like that…” she wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him in for a kiss, pressing her body into his as much as possible to help him feel that she’s with him and that she’s okay.
Lee knows exactly what her husband is feeling in that moment, remembering back to when he couldn’t get ahold of her after The Snap for many hours.
2018
On the day Thanos arrived in Wakanda, the Avengers and their newfound allies still had resolve to see through protecting Vision and destroying the stone; they had to if they were going to face the immense fight brought to them on Earth. Steve had reunited with Bucky which greatly lifted both of their spirits to see each other in such good health under the circumstances. But as the conflict began, Steve had a creeping feeling this was going to be one of, if not the toughest moments of his life as he prepared to face the relentless alien army. The collective bravery of those around him fueled him, as did thoughts of Lee and everyone else on the planet who didn’t deserve what Thanos was planning. Steve fought like hell, but as the battle rolled on, the enemy got closer to Vision. The arrival of Thanos furthered his resolve to finish things, even though the situation was not in their favor.
When he came-to after the blow to the head from Thanos, he was filled with concern seeing the look on Thor’s face. Turning around to Bucky’s call of his name, Steve was in shock. His best friend he’d just gotten back turned into dust before his eyes, he couldn’t, no, wouldn’t, let himself comprehend what was happening; that they had lost, Thanos was erasing half of the universe.
Finding Vision dead, he had to let himself accept that they’d lost. For the first time, he let the weight of the situation wash over him as he collapsed, doing everything he could to not break down any further in front of the remaining team who were all experiencing just as many feelings of desperation as he was. So many thoughts rushed through his head trying to process something so unfathomable. He thought of Bucky, of Lee, oh god Lee… he cried out to the universe in his mind to please let her be okay. He couldn’t take anymore loss today. He thought of the many millions, no, billions, of people who were just incomprehensibly lost to nothingness. And for the first time in his life, the no longer star-spangled man, in that moment, did not have a plan.
~~~
The first chance he had after the lost battle, Steve called Lee, but her phone kept going to voicemail. Communications around the world went haywire after Thanos, the remaining billions of people all desperately trying to contact loved ones, just like him. He was an anxious mess on the flight back to New York, telling himself she had to be alive, but his mind kept playing over Bucky’s disappearance interspersed with vivid images of the same thing happening to Lee.
What Steve didn’t know is that Lee was doing the same thing, desperately trying to call him, call anyone on the team but nothing went through. She’d be at the grocery store when The Snap happened and had watched in horror as the older woman she’d been conversing with about which apple varieties made the best pies disintegrated before her. She looked around seeing this happening to multiple people, immediately rushing out to head for safety, knowing this must have been Thanos’s doing, extreme concern for herself, Steve, and the entire world crumbling her mind. She returned to her apartment to quickly realize there was nothing she could do there but wait. Phones weren’t working, the system was overwhelmed. She could see that the streets were clogged with the cars of those who had disappeared. She’d just have to wait and hope and hope and wait.
Steve and the others arrived back to the Compound and the first thing Steve did was rush out to find Lee. There was nothing he could do right now about Thanos, and the only thing he could control was attempt to find his love. He took his motorcycle, navigating around abandoned vehicles as best he could until he reached the Harlem River and couldn’t make it across to Manhattan anywhere, even on the bike; all the bridges were thoroughly blocked. He found a place to park his bike and started walking. A few miles was nothing to him as he broke into a slow run, needing to get to her apartment faster. He shielded himself from the death and destruction along every street in the city, unable to process anything more beyond finding Lee. He finally reached her apartment, letting himself into the building. He stilled himself in front of her door, closing his eyes to take a deep breath to prepare himself for the worst. He knocked; if she was okay, he didn’t want to scare her by busting in.
Lee heard a knock on her door from her place rolled up in a ball on her couch. She cautiously got up and approached the door, unsure if the person on the other side would be someone she knew or someone with bad intentions, having seen people breaking into stores on the street below. She looked through the peephole and saw Steve standing there, eyes closed, head bowed. Lee immediately threw open the door, the captain nearly collapsing into her at the loss of the door he was leaning on for support. She pulled him into her arms, and he could barely register her embrace as his brain struggled to comprehend if what he was feeling was real in order to let himself have some relief. Her sobs shook him and pretty soon he was crying too, grasping her tighter than he’s ever held anyone in his life. They stood there in her doorway for who knows how long, letting out their grief and horror in the safety of each other’s embrace. Once they both calmed down, he pulled back to look her in the eyes, seeing the same terror there as she saw in his. He leaned in and kissed her desperately, needing to feel their spark again, to feel something good, to feel love to keep the incredible darkness baring down around them at bay. Steve moved their embraced forms further into her apartment, shutting and locking the door behind him as they went.