I'm keeping my word that I'm going to be updating the LAST CHAPTER.

What I didn't realize was how I wanted everything in this story to have a closure. Including some supporting matters (u'll know about it as you read on).

So I split the last chapter into two parts: chapter 24 and 25!!

But it's a double update because I luv u all so much! Mwah!

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - FOUR ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Steve thought he was dreaming. He probably still is.

He always wondered what it's like to finally and really kiss someone you love. Sure, he kissed Peggy before. With her, it was the closest thing he felt to love. It felt nice; kissing her made him feel soft and warm on the inside.

With Sharon, though, it was different. It was more of a friendly, gentle type of love rather than a genuine one. In some ways, it felt wrong than he ever was with Peggy. It felt forced. Probably, a smart decision on why he chose to end it when the only reason he had left to be with her is because Sharon reminded him of Peggy, and he felt horrible. He was a complete prick because Sharon didn't deserve that. 

And she certainly didn't deserve to be a cover-up for his growing feelings for a certain redhead.

He thought he'd be able to forget everything; to hide his feelings in the deepest parts of his guarded heart. He was hurt before but he forced himself to let go and move on because as long as Natasha was happy, then he was happy. He thought she was happy with Bruce.

Apparently, he was wrong. They both were.

Because he'd just found out that she loves him. She loves him. Just as much as he loves her.

Steve held her tightly in his arms that night, not letting go as if she was going to break the second he did. "Stop being so hard on yourself, Nat." He muttered softly, "I hate seeing you like this."

Natasha let out a chuckle yet sounding every bit sad. Her voice muffled through his chest. It made his stomach do somersaults just thinking about how close she was to him; how intimate everything around them now is.

She glanced up at him through her lashes. "Steve I..."

"It's okay. You don't have to say anything," he assured.

"But I—" Her mouth opened and closed again. She struggled to find the right words, a slight hesitation written all over her face. She settled for sighing instead, keeping silent.

Then, taking him by surprise, she leaned in and captured his lips.

Steve was momentarily stunned but after a few seconds, he succumbed to the kiss and deepened it. Her arms moved up to wrap themselves around his neck, bringing him closer to her while his hands brushed her waist, then her lower back.

He suddenly felt conscious because the thought of Natasha being way more experienced than he was pushed its way to his mind. Was he doing okay? Was this the right way of kissing someone? He vaguely remembered her implying that he needed practice so... oh, screw that. 

He tossed all of his insecurities aside and tried to focus on Natasha instead. All he knew was that it felt breathtaking kissing her. He felt complete, alive, and whole again. He knew it was cheesy but when you finally and really kissed someone you love? It's a whole new experience. There'd never be enough words to describe exactly what it feels like.

Kissing Peggy was amazing but kissing Natasha? It felt like he was dreaming.

But suddenly, the image of Bruce and Natasha together appeared in his mind, and it made him pull away.

Natasha stared at him—still breathless from their kiss—but she was frowning and had a questioning look. "What?" she breathed.

Steve swallowed guiltily, sighing, "We can't... I mean—what about Bruce?"

A look of guilty immediately filled her face too. "Oh," she muttered, sighing as well. "Right, I'm sorry."

He felt dejected, feeling empty when her warmth left him. He retracted his hands from her waist, clearing his throat awkwardly.

"I just..." She sighed again, "He needs to know the truth. Well, I think he knows anyway for some time now."

Steve felt himself blush, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I'm sorry, Nat. I didn't mean to... God, this is wrong."

Bruce was his friend and he honest-to-God felt guilty that he kissed her friend's girlfriend (even if Natasha was the one who initiated it, he still returned the kiss) behind his back. It didn't sound like something he would do, but he did, and he was being a complete douche.

"No, I was the one who kissed you."

"But I kissed you back."

There was the slightest tinge of red on Natasha's face. "Well, it's done now." She said, sounding a little colder than she meant to. "I'm sorry. Just... forget it."

"What? No," Steve stopped her, grabbing her arms gently to make her look at him. "I never meant this is wrong," he gestured at the both of them, "I just meant while you're with Bruce..."

Natasha understood his point, intervening, "It's wrong because it's basically cheating." She huffed a breath when he nodded. "Of course, I know that. And to think that you just broke up with Sharon too."

His silence was an indication of an agreement. They shouldn't rush into any of this yet, for all of their sake.

"Just... give me time, Steve. Give me time to tell him the truth, and talk to Sharon."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "But Sharon and I broke up."

"I know that," she sighed, "Just need to make sure she's okay with it... with us or—you know."

Steve sighed, nodding weakly. "You're right. I've been thinking to talk to Bruce too—I mean I should. Besides, I owe him an apology." He gave her a weak smile, "I love you but he's my friend too."

Her face got redder at his last statement—almost close to the color of her hair. And Natasha was rarely stunned or left without words, usually it was the other way around with Steve being a blushing mess. 

He didn't even realize the impact of what he said until he repeated it in his head. The thought of it made him blush too. "I mean, uh—sorry," he stuttered, looking everywhere but her.

Of course, just like in their normal, alien-crap-fighting lives, their moment was interrupted when they felt the floor underneath them shook, followed by the rapid sound of footsteps hitting the concrete ground.

Immediately, they knew their conversation was over. It was, again, time for work.

-----------------------------

Steve let his eyes slowly flutter open, immediately seeing a white light surrounding his vision. He squinted his eyes, realizing the brightness was too overwhelming.

Then worry started to fill him.

Oh, no.

Was he in the ice again? Did he wake up another seventy years later? Or worse, a century? What happened? The last thing he remember was Loki, and then Natasha tried to—

Natasha.

She was telling him she loved him. And he told her he loved her too. Was he never going to see her again? Did the chance of them being together was long gone now? Because he, again, had waited too long? Just like with Peg... no. 

It couldn't be. It can't—

"Steve, Steve!"

His eyes cleared up and, instantly, he was back to reality. It was only then he saw the person in front of him, hovering over his form and had their hands cupping the sides of his face. Her touch was warm compared to his cold, sweating skin.

He glanced up, looking straight into the same mesmerizing, pair of green hues he could stare at all day long.

"N'tasha," he breathed.

"It's okay, it's okay. You're fine," she said, trying to get him through his breaths. She didn't know what had happened, but the next thing she knew, he was hyperventilating like crazy.

When he finally got his brain functioning again, his eyes fleeted across the room, scanning every inch of it until his face scrunched up with confusion. "Where am I?"

Natasha retracted her hands from his face, but remained standing by his side. "Still at the compound, just in a recovery room," she answered, tilting her head at him questioningly, "Don't you remember what happened?"

Everything was a bit of a blur. He remembered bits and pieces of it, like Loki crashing in on their party and rambling on some sort of... machine? And then he got hit with his magical scepter and bled out pretty badly... other than that? A complete blank.

Strange.

"I remembered getting hit." On instinct, he removed the sheets draped across his body to check. Sure enough, his stomach was bandaged. "And passing out from the blood which is weird but I—wait, is Loki—where is he?"

Natasha sighed, "Thor's taken care of him. He's taking him back home."

Steve grunted, throwing his head back into the pillows, "He better make sure his nice-of-a-brother stays there this time. We can't have him crashing another one of Tony's parties or else he'll flip his shit."

"Woah," she chuckled, "watch your mouth there, soldier."

He faintly blushed, grumbling, "Aren't you ever going to let that go?"

She stilled, her voice succumbing to a gentler tone, "No." She smiled, gazing right at him, letting her heart speak for itself. "No, I don't think I will."

Steve could feel his own heart pounding. Right here, right at this moment—with him lying in a hospital bed while the love of his life was right beside him—he swore this could never be more cheesier than those hospital, drama shows that Natasha and him used to watch.

But he couldn't deny that as cheesy as it looks like, the moment was every bit intimate.

He smiled back at her when he saw that her hand was now resting on top of his own. He turned his hand, letting it face upwards so he could intertwine his fingers with hers.

Then a knock sounded from the door that caused the both of them to immediately withdrew their hands, snatching it out from each other's warmth. Steve was certain he was blushing, but what surprised him was Natasha being in the same state as he was.

"Uh, Agent Romanoff?" It was James; his voice muffled through the doors. "Can we, um, can we come in?"

"It's open, James," she called out.

The door swung open and there walked in, Allie and James. 

They didn't walk further into the room, stopping by just at the foot of the bed. James abruptly stopped making Allie bumped into his back. She glared at him; he ignored her.

"So," James started awkwardly, "I'm glad you're awake."

Steve smiled, "Me too."

"How's your—uh, stomach?" Allie asked.

"Oh, it's fine. The bleeding stopped, I think," Steve answered, smiling sheepishly, "How 'bout you guys? Are you—are you hurt or..."

Allie shook her head, giving him a reassuring look, "We're fine. Just a few cuts we can't not handle."

"That's good to know," Steve said, with Natasha nodding in agreement.

James cleared his throat, shifting anxiously, "Listen, Steve, this might probably sound weird to ask out of the blue, but by any chance," he paused hesitantly, stammering, "do—do you know who I am?"

Steve gave him a look. "Of course..." he trailed off, sharing a puzzled face with Natasha, then looking back at him, "You're James Rogan, a new agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, and one of Tony's recruits? And she's Allie, your—uh, sister."

James visibly let out a sigh of relief.

Steve raised an eyebrow at him, "Is this a test? Like, a memory refresher thing?"

"Sorta," Allie chimed in, shrugging, "Dr. Banner told us to see if there were any complications at all, but thankfully, so far, there aren't."

"Yeah," was James' only response. He smiled again, more relaxed this time, "It's great to know you're alright, Captain."

He shared the same relief and joy as him, "Likewise, James."

Seeing that their job here was successfully completed, both siblings left the room, leaving the soon-to-be couple alone to spend some time together.

They closed the door to Steve's room and walked, side by side, along the hallway that led up to the elevator.

"Well," James started, releasing a breath, "I guess that's that."

"Yeah," Allie smiled feebly.

Noticing that his sister didn't share the same enthusiasm he had, he stopped to ask her, "What's wrong?"

"Hmm?" She glanced at him, "Oh, nothing."

He didn't buy her lie. He continued to press, "Obviously, there's something."

Allie sighed, "Just—forget it. I'm fine." She started walking away faster to leave him behind but he caught up with her.

He had a vague idea about what's causing his sister to be like this—or more like who. He saw this coming for the past days now, and he knew it was definitely not just about their parents. He had a hunch about who it was. 

"Is it about Lucas?"

Allie paused in her tracks, dropping her gaze to the floor.

James sighed, casting her a sympathetic glance, "You can still talk to him, you know. You still have time."

She scoffed, "Time." She said it like it was the worst thing ever created in the universe, "I hate it."

"Als," he whispered.

"No, we have everything but time, James." Allie took a deep breath, looking down at her hands, "I can't do this to him. I can't just disappear after everything."

James pursed his lips, "Well, I did warn you that this would happen—"

Allie cut him off with a glare.

"Sorry," he finished lamely, sighing. He didn't know what to say. He really wasn't good at comforting people because it makes him uncomfortable, more so, with his sister. "Just talk to him, Als."

She huffed, "But what do I say?"

"Anything," He shrugged, giving her a small smile, "Everything. Just do what your heart tells you to do like you always have."

Allie looked at him with a sad frown, "What if I don't know what that is?"

James squeezed her shoulder reassuringly, nodding, "I think you do."

-----------------------------

Allie searched and searched and searched everywhere.

But she couldn't find him.

They must've missed each other, and it was frustrating her to an extent because, again, time was running out. She needed to talk to him, to tell him what he needed to know, and to say a proper goodbye.

"Allie!"

She whipped around, a gasp of a cry eliciting from her lips as soon as she saw the person on the other end of the hall. "Lucas!"

Both darted to meet each other halfway. They collided with a tight embrace.

"Oh, thank God," Lucas whispered in her ear, he pulled back to inspect her, "Are you hurt? What happened? Is Loki—"

"Hey, breathe," she laughed.

Lucas laughed lightly, shaking his head, "Sorry," he muttered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "I'm just glad you're okay. I couldn't get a hold of you and I tried to find you but... I couldn't."

Her lips twitched upwards slightly, "How did you find me?"

"Oh, I bumped into your brother. Then I asked him if he knew where you were."

She arched an eyebrow, "Did he?"

Lucas shook his head, chuckling, "No," he added, "but he did gave me ideas where you could be."

The smile on her was short-lived. There was no time for beating around the bush, she needed to cut to the chase. "I... I need to tell you something," she muttered.

"What?" he asked, worried.

She bit the inside of her cheek, sighing, "I'm—I mean, we're—me and James," she paused, "we're leaving tomorrow."

Shock came across Lucas' face. He obviously wasn't expecting that. "Tomorrow?" he repeated, voice lacing with sadness.

Allie nodded, "My parents they're... they're expecting us to get back before school starts." Technically, it wasn't a whole lie. They really did need to go back for their parents and for school.

"I see," he muttered, forcing a smile, "Well, good luck I guess?"

She forced a smile back, "You too. Oh, wait—" she reached for something in her pocket, "I'm not really sure how you feel about this stuff, so I kind of took a risk with it. But I just, I wanted to give you something. Before I leave."

A flicker of emotions fleeted past Lucas' eyes.

Allie pulled out her hand, showing a black, leather charm bracelet with a silver 'L' in the center.

He felt his heart skipping a beat at the gesture. "Allie..."

A blush crawled up the nape of her neck. "Remember the Marawi mission? The one where we went to the Philippines?" He nodded, feeling himself blush as well. After all, that mission was a long time ago. "Well, while we were staying at the evacuation site, some lady was selling these. So, I bought one to help her out and, well, I sure wasn't going to give a bracelet to James."

Lucas chuckled, making her do the same as well.

He took it from her, their fingers brushing together, "Thank you, Allie."

Allie smiled shyly. "You can wear it or not wear it. It's your choice, really, because I know boys aren't supposed to wear bracelets and I'm really dumb for—"

"Allie."

"Hmm?"

Lucas smiled widely, "I love it. Thank you." he said sincerely, letting out a soft laugh, "If anyone should be embarrassed, it should be me. I haven't gotten you anything."

Of course, you wouldn't, because this wasn't supposed to happen! She was being a complete poop for messing up the timeline, but—oh well, what's done is done. Sorry universe.

He started to pull up his sleeves, baring his wrist to her, "Do you mind if you..."

"Oh, sure," she said, taking the bracelet from him to wrap it around his wrist. "There."

Before she knew it, Lucas was suddenly pulling her into a tight hug again. She hugged him back, smiling sadly. She's really going to miss him.

"Will I ever see you again?" he asked.

She gasped a cry, burying herself deeper into his arms. "I guess... only time will tell."

While all that was happening, James was watching from the shadows. 

When he bumped into Lucas a while ago, he already knew he was looking for Allie. So, he inconspicuously followed him (probably, it was just his protective brother side showing too, but whatever) and bam! Now, here he was, watching the heartbreaking scene of two star-crossed lovers parting ways like in those cheesy, rom-com movies Allie forced him to watch with her.

He could only imagine how hard it was going to be for his sister. But like he said before, it's her fault for being so damn stubborn!

Finally, after an exchange of goodbye's, the two finally parted ways. 

Allie caught sight of his form lurking in the shadows, quickly walking over to where he was. There weren't any tears on her eyes (thank, God) but there wasn't a trace of a smile either.

"Hey," she greeted weakly.

"Hey," he said back, "So, you ready?"

After a brief silence, she nodded. "Yeah, did you—where is it?"

James went over to the other side of the column, disappearing from her view. He emerged a few seconds later with the same glowing red scepter in his hands. "Here. We really need to get this back to Uncle Thor before he starts suspecting us. I don't wanna wipe him too."

"I know, I know. This'll be the last time, I promise." she sighed deeply, taking it from him.

James put out his hands to stop her. "Wait, maybe I should do this."

"You can't. I'm the only who knows every memory he has with me," she pointed out, "I can't risk leaving even one of it behind."

He sighed, muttering under his breath. "That's kinda cruel."

She laughed dryly. "You think?"

He shrugged, ignoring her sarcasm. "Totally."

"Shut up and don't distract me."

Allie closed her eyes. Remembering what James taught her, she tried to concentrate her power over the stone instead of the other way around. With a burst of warmth and coldness akin to that of fire and ice, she starts thinking—she starts remembering. 

Lucas.

Every second, every minute, and every hour she spent with him—in an instant, were all gone.

As soon as it ended, she felt a piece of him taken away from her as well. The warmth was gone, but the bitter cold was still here. It was all she felt. 

She now understands why her father hated ice so much.

-----------------------------

Steve was finally granted a release. 

Natasha excused herself, telling him that she was just going to grab a snack and a drink because she hadn't eaten anything yet for lunch, leaving him alone in the room.

Some nurses were already cleaning up: changing the sheets, disinfecting the floors and walls, and sanitizing every object used inside the room.

Steve was waiting out in the lounge. He was still a little sore, but at least he didn't feel his stomach being ripped open anymore. 

"Steve."

He looked up to see Bruce stopping in the hallway. He was wearing a lab coat over his casual attire of a shirt and jeans. "Bruce," he didn't stand up, but he stood upright the second he acknowledged him.

"Hey, I—um, I dropped by a visit to your room to check up on you but I found it empty."

"Oh, yes, Dr. Cho told me I was okay for release," Steve informed.

"That's good to know. How's your stomach treating you?" Bruce asked, "Any signs of increasing pain lately?"

Steve shook his head, "It still hurts a little when I move but it's nothing serious. I'd be sure to inform you if there's any chances. Thanks, Bruce."

Bruce nodded, smiling feebly, "You're welcome, Cap." Before he could walk away, he heard Steve called his name again. "Yeah?"

Steve opened his mouth to speak but quickly closed it when no words came out. How could he say this? He knew this wasn't the appropriate place to be opening such a subject, but he knew this was the appropriate time.

He cared about Natasha, but he cared about Bruce too.

If he was ever going to do something, he needed to do it right.

"Can we, um, talk for just a quick minute?" Steve asked, rubbing his hands together nervously, "It won't take long, I promise."

Something changed in Bruce's face. The smile was still there, but it held a different kind of emotion; almost like he already knew why Steve wanted to talk. "Sure."

Steve and Bruce eventually wandered to a deserted hallway. Only a few agents and nurses were walking past here, so they were safe to talk about... well, whatever they're planning to talk about.

Steve started with a sigh, "Bruce..."

"I know," he suddenly said.

Steve stared at him. "What?"

"I know what you're going to say," Bruce reprimanded, running a hand through his hair.

For some reason, that made Steve all anxious and fidgety inside. His hands were starting to sweat. "You—you do?" he stuttered.

Bruce nodded, tilting his head, "It's about Nat, isn't it?"

All color drained from Steve's face. Bruce didn't let him answer, well, he didn't need to. His face pretty much gave everything away.

"I know, Steve," Bruce smiled, but the sadness in his eyes said otherwise, "I've known for a while now."

"I..." Steve was at loss for words. He wasn't expecting that. He didn't know what to say, where to start; all he could think about was apologizing. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." 

He meant his words, and Bruce knew that. He could never hate Steve, how could he? Steve was a good man, he knew he'd never do anything to hurt his friends and the people he cared about.

"It's okay," Once he said that, Steve looked at him disbelievingly. He fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Okay, maybe it's not really okay okay, but it's not your fault or hers. Don't start blaming yourself."

"But..." Steve trailed off, rubbing his hand over his face. "I'm really sorry. I know it's not supposed to happen because she's with you... and I was with Sharon and," he heaved a breath, "I don't know what happened."

Bruce only shrugged. "Well, things just happen, you know? Doesn't mean you always have to understand why."

Besides, it was his fault anyway. Not Steve's. Not Natasha's.

It was his fault to think that he and Natasha could ever make a relationship work based on their common ground of being 'monsters'; that they relied on their worst qualities to find contentment in each other, choosing to settle, and calling it 'love'.

No, love isn't supposed to work that way. Love was so much more than just that. 

This thing with him and Natasha... it wasn't that. It didn't have the right to be called love.

Only one person could bring such happiness to Natasha's life, only one person could truly give her the love she deserves—and it wasn't him.

It was the person standing in front of him.

"Still, I'm sorry... I—"

Bruce cut him off, "Do you love her?"

Steve was taken aback, but quickly nodded once he let the depth of his question dawn on him. "Yes."

"Will you promise to make her happy?"

Steve nodded again, this time, smiling. "To my very best."

Bruce smiled too, without the sadness lurking behind it. It was a real smile. He pursed his lips, "Then, that's all that matters to me."

Steve asked hesitantly, "So, are we..." he gulped, "are we good?"

He clasped his back reassuringly, "We're good, Cap." His smile turned wider. "I'm glad I had this talk with you."

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ E N D O F C H A P T E R ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

I chose to end it here because I want  the final chapter (chap 25) to be entirely about Steve and Nat's relationship.

I really don't want Allie and Lucas' thing... whatever they had going on, to share the spotlight with Steve and Nat because Steve and Nat DESERVE TO HAVE A MOMENT SOLELY DEDICATED TO THEM.

SO KEEP READING!!