It’s Been So Long since You’ve Been
The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.
Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.
Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.
I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses, went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.
I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster.
—Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident
the art of losing’s not too hard to master
Though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.
—“One Art” by Elizabeth Bishop
Dr. Cho hesitated. She wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do or not, but she had to do something. The phone was already ringing.
“Hello, this is Pepper Potts. How can I help you?”
“Hi, I’m Dr. Helen Cho. I need to speak with Tony Stark as soon as possible.”
“Is this about his heart?” Worry filled Pepper’s voice.
Dr. Cho was about to clarify, but she knew nothing would get Stark on the phone faster than his own longevity. “Yes.”
“Can you wait just a moment?” Pepper asked.
“Of course,” Dr. Cho said.
Only a few moments later, Tony’s rough voice came across the phone, “What is this about?”
Dr. Cho took a deep breath. “Have you heard of the Valkyrie’s recovery?”
“Uh, yeah. It’s been all over the news.”
“They recovered more than just the plane,” Dr. Cho whispered.
“The Tesseract!” Tony exclaimed.
“No, Captain Rogers.”
“Oh.” A strange emotion filled Tony’s voice. “My father bought a plot and commissioned a headstone—”
“No,” Dr. Cho interrupted him. “Captain Rogers is alive!”
“What?” Tony asked.
“I’m not supposed to be telling you this, but I don’t know who else could interfere,” Dr. Cho admitted. Few men could stand against Shield. “Fury believes that Captain Rogers is government property since the government-funded Erkskine’s experiments.”
“That’s ludicrous!” Tony interjected. “Dad covered most of the expenses.”
“Yes, well, there’s more.”
Tony waited.
“Captain Rogers is an Omega,” Dr. Cho whispered.
“What?” Tony couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“He’s pregnant,” Dr. Cho continued.
“W-What does this have to do with me?” Tony asked.
“Your father was his Alpha,” Dr. Cho explained. “Legally, he would be your property, not Shield’s.”
Tony laughed somewhat hysterically. “This is insane!”
“Please, Mr. Stark, you have to help him! Shield does not have good intentions for Steve or his pups.”
“Pups?” Tony asked.
“Twins,” Dr. Cho said softly. She couldn’t seem to say, your siblings.
Tony sighed. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Steve knew that just a few days… a couple of decades ago, he wouldn’t have taken this. But that was when he was Captain America, one of the most powerful Alphas in the world. Now, he was just Steve Rogers, a disgraced Omega.
In his day, he could have been thrown in an asylum or killed for his relationship with Howard.
In the future, that kind of relationship was allowed.
But Howard Stark was dead.
That revelation had almost killed him.
“Captain Rogers?” Fury asked stiffly.
“W-Where’s Howie?” Steve’s voice broke.
Fury sighed. “Died in ‘91.”
Steve gasped. He felt as if his bond were breaking all over again. It is impossible to describe that kind of agony.
“P-Peggy?”
“She founded Shield, actually. She’s still alive, but her health’s failing,” Fury explained.
“The Howlies?” Steve’s voice was barely a whisper.
Somehow, Fury heard it over the noise of the future. He shook his head.
Steve’s heart had broken years ago, but now, it was nothing but dust. Steve was truly alone. He wished he’d died in that crash.
The only reason Steve hadn’t tried to kill himself was his babies.
Steve felt like a ghost as he was led towards the med bay.
It wasn’t the staged one that he remembered.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Captain. I’m Dr. Cho.” A petite woman held out her hand.
Steve somehow found the strength to shake her hand.
Dr. Cho frowned. “Director, I believe my patient requires some rest.”
Fury narrowed his eye at her. “Very well.”
Once they were alone, Dr. Cho wrapped her arms around him.
Steve shook like a tree in a storm. He cried great, heavy tears that would have rivaled a hurricane.
When his tears dried up, Dr. Cho helped him sit in a strange chair. It looked very little like hospital beds in his day.
“I am sorry about your loss, Captain,” Dr. Cho said softly.
Losses, not loss.
“W-Why am I in de hospital?” Steve asked.
Dr. Cho looked a bit taken aback at his heavily accented voice. “I’ve been your doctor while you were asleep. And I discovered a few things.”
Steve tensed. He’d already acted inappropriately in front of a commanding officer.
Had he given himself away?
How could he act so much like an Omega?
“I took a blood sample while you were sleeping,” Dr. Cho admitted.
Steve recoiled. “I made it clear dat I didn’t want any more tests!”
“Fury approved—”
“He had no right!” Steve roared.
“I agree with you, Captain.” Dr. Cho sighed. “You weren’t responding to medication, and I thought that a blood test might reveal why you weren’t recovering. Instead, I discovered that you are an Omega.”
“D-Did you tell anyone?” Steve asked.
“I had to report my findings to Director Fury.”
Steve sniffed.
“There’s more,” Dr. Cho said softly.
Steve wasn’t sure what else there could be.
“It’ll be easiest if I show you,” Dr. Cho murmured. She moved some equipment closer.
Steve almost jumped when she pulled his shirt up. He shivered when she squeezed a cold gel on his stomach. He’d never heard a sound like that before.
“What do you see?” Dr. Cho asked gently.
Lines, Steve wanted to say.
But that was an artist speaking.
And then he heard it, heartbeats.
He had heard echoes in his own heartbeat, but the machine amplified the sound.
The lines created images that were the clearest pictures of life he had ever seen.
Fury didn’t look up as a stack of paperwork was dropped on his desk.
“What’s this, you ask?” Tony said snarkily.
“I didn’t,” Fury said.
Tony sighed impatiently. “It’s a legal document binding your frozen super soldier to me.”
Fury glared at him. “That’s classified information. As far as the world is concerned, said Alpha died seventy years ago.”
“I thought you’d say that. Google Captain America right now.”
Fury did so.
Thousands of articles popped up.
“The Valkyrie Recovered after Seventy Years,” “Shield Hiding Captain America,” “Super Serum the Secret to Cryostasis,” “Captain America Revealed as an Omega,” “America’s History Forever Tainted by Shocking Revelation,” “Inside Captain America’s Pregnancy,” and “Who Was Captain America’s Mate,” were just the tip of the iceberg.
“What did you do?” Fury snarled.
“I just made it impossible for the government to keep Captain America as some kind of weapon or experiment. Legally, he’s mine!”
“The government funded—”
“We both know my dad funded it!” Tony yelled.
“He still needs medical attention and psychological help.”
“I’ve got the best that money can buy,” Tony snapped. “Super soldier, chop, chop.
Steve was startled awake when the door slammed open.
A self-imposing man marched into the room. “Get your stuff!”
“W-What stuff?” Steve asked.
The man turned on Director Fury. “You didn’t even get him anything!”
“We’re still reintroducing—”
“Save it!” Turning back on Steve, he softened a fraction. “You’re coming with me.”
“Who are you?” Steve asked.
The man sighed. “I’m Tony Stark.”
***
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