THE AVENGERS STOOD in front of the thwarted Loki. Tony wasn't going to give the god what he wanted, which was the drink he offered him about an hour ago.

"All right. Get him on his feet. We can all stand around posing up a storm later." Tony said with his helmet off.

"I gotta say, it was pretty cool. I felt like Zorro." Y/N remarked, recalling the TV series from the late 50s.

Tony chuckled as he shook his head. "God, you really are old."

Natasha held the scepter. "Who gets the, uh, magic wand?"

"S.T.R.I.K.E team's coming to secure it." Steve answered.

The elevator nearby opened, and Agent Sitwell walked in with Brock Rumlow and other agents.

"We can take that off your hands." Sitwell said as he walked up to the female agent. She handed it to him.

"By all means."

Sitwell handed it to Rumlow who placed the staff in a special briefcase. Y/N stood by Clint who was serving himself a drink by the bar while all this was transpiring.

"Careful with that thing." Natasha warned Rumlow.

"Yeah, unless you want your mind erased. And not in a fun way." Clint remarked, handing both Y/N and Natasha a glass.

"We promise to be careful." Rumlow replied.

Steve spoke into his comms as he walked away. "On my way down to coordinate search and rescue."

Loki, who was handcuffed, chose to have fun amidst his arrest. He transformed into Rogers and imitated him.

"On my way down to coordinate search and rescue."

He reverted back to himself and laughed. "I mean, honestly, how do you keep your food down?"

Thor was already annoyed with his brother, for almost killing him and taking over Midgard...among other things. He placed a muzzle over his mouth.

"Shut up."

Thor walked off with Loki, joining Tony and the others in getting to the ground floor of the tower. Clint, Natasha, and Y/N chose to stay in the room and looked out of the shattered window for a moment, surveying the skyline.

"Wow..." Y/N breathed out as he held his glass. His friends looked at him.

"Never seen a view like this before?" Clint asked.

"Well, no. But it's that and...the fact that we actually did it." Y/N began. "Two years ago, I woke up to a world I didn't know, and was given a chance to help in keeping it safe."

The two agents continued listening to his words.

"Yeah, we had ops taking down arms dealers, traffickers, terrorists...but what we did today...that is truly keeping it safe."

Y/N thought back at what Fury told him, back when he first woke up a year ago and hours ago on the hellicarrier. He was making a difference, not as whatever he was being made to be during the years in stasis, but as himself.

A soldier.

A hero.

An Avenger.

He was devoted to the cause and wanted to do what was right. Which is why he was willing to join the army back then and why he accepted Fury's offer to join the agency in the new world. Looking up to Captain America as a kid is a big reason why he lived by such principles as an adult.

Natasha was intrigued by his sense of honor and devotion to such a cause. That along with his charisma, loyalty, and ambitious personality is what drew her closer. She smiled before looking out into the skyline again.

"Wow, mighty fine words, kid. You should help my boy with speech class when he gets into high school." Clint remarked.

Y/N chuckled. "Again, I'm not a kid, Barton. I'm like...old enough to be your dad."

"Ugh, please don't say that." Clint shook his head.

The young agent remembered Stark's mention of lunch from before. He figured that's where they were going after dealing with Loki.

"Stark mentioned getting lunch after this whole thing, and I'm hungry, so we should start making our way down." He told them.

"Yeah, I like that idea." Natasha said.

Y/N smiled and playfully offered an escort arm. "Care to dine with me ma'am?"

Natasha shook her head and chuckled, but took his arm anyway. "You're hilarious."

They walked off, leaving Clint by the window as he looked on. He soon followed and called out.

"I'm still trying to get the image of you as my father out of my head."

• • •

THE TEAM REUNITED for one last time before going their separate ways. Thor held a glass cylinder containing the Tesseract and had a muzzled Loki still with him. It was time for them to return to Asgard so they can safe-keep the cube and imprison the God of Mischief.

"It's been fun. I look forward until the next time we meet again." Thor told the Midgardians.

"Hey, it's not everyday somebody gets to meet someone from Norse mythology." Y/N remarked.

Thor chuckled, not getting what he meant and thinking it was a joke. "I'm going to miss hearing such earthly blagues."

Natasha stood beside the young agent and raised a brow after the god's remark. She figured Thor didn't know about the legend based on him.

Thor and Loki held the sides of the cylinder together and twisted it, the Cube transporting them out of the realm.

It was now time for the rest to bid their farewells.

Stark and Banner were by the former's sports car. Steve was the first to shake their hands and say his goodbyes. Y/N did so afterwards.

"You're not so bad, Forrest." Tony began. "Once I heard you were from the past like Rogers I thought you'd be a square."

"Uh...thanks?"

He pat the young man on the shoulder and entered his car.

"I'd ask you to pay me back for the shawarma we had yesterday, but I'm nice, so you don't have to." He started the engine. "And I'm rich so..."

Y/N laughed and shook Banner's hand next, the two simply exchanging nods before the doctor entered the passenger's seat. Tony then sped away.

Steve was by his motorcycle talking with Natasha. Y/N walked over to say goodbye to the fellow soldier.

"Nice wheels." He remarked.

"Something I got for myself a little whole after I got out of the ice. Reminds me of the one I had during the war." He replied.

"This beauty will cast some eyeballs for sure." He said as he looked at the bike. The two stayed quiet but had a light smile on their faces. Y/N took notice.

"Sorry. What do people say nowadays? Just that it looks cool?"

Steve laughed and shook the young man's hand. He then mounted the motorcycle.

"Hope we see each other again, Y/N." He also looked at the woman. "Romanoff."

"S.H.I.E.L.D still might need some help. They could use Captain America." Natasha said.

"Give me a call then." He replied, then revved his engine and sped off.

Natasha and Y/N walked over to Clint, who wore sunglasses and was making his way to his car.

"Ready to go?" He asked them.

"Actually, Clint, me and Nat are gonna stay in the city for a bit." Y/N replied, which garnered a confused look by both senior agents.

"Really?" Clint asked.

"This is news to me." She added.

He looked at Natasha, "Oh, sorry, it was a surprise. Impressed by how well I kept the secret?"

"What's the surprise? A nice stroll through a wrecked Manhattan?"

"Uh, no. But we could. Nah, I'm kidding."

She rolled her eyes and Barton quietly chuckled. Seeing the two's interactions and relationship the past year always brought him a good laugh.

"Okay, then. Y/N, give me a call if she tries to kill you. Nat, you call if you need help burying the body." He joked as he entered the car. He gave them a peace sign through the window and drove away.

The two agents stood alone in the park. She turned to face him.

"So what's this surprise? You here to confess your undying love for me?"

Y/N chuckled. "Love is for children, as you would say. And undying would be a stretch."

"Good to know my wisdom prevails."

He sighed as he looked on at the trees surrounding them. "How about we go grab something to eat? Some pizza maybe? Even though I hate the prices nowadays, I'll pay."

She smirked. "You're asking me out on a date?"

The young man remembered her joke back on the hellicarrier about him never asking her out. He figured this was him basically doing that.

He shrugged. "A date, two coworkers hanging out, an excursion between friends, whatever you want it to be." He rested his hands on his waist. "Real question is if pizza's okay?"

Internally, she was grateful that the young agent was willing to take time out of his day to spend it with her. She's done lots of bad things in the past, and was still atoning for it by being a S.H.I.E.L.D agent. But people like Y/N didn't care about what she was before. Him, along with Barton, were the only two so far who she was willing to keep close and open up to.

She gave a smile before replying,
"That'd be nice."

The man smiled back. The two started walking off together and moments later Y/N wondered...

"Pizzas don't go for 15 cents anymore do they?"

• • •

A FEW MONTHS had passed. Steve Rogers now lived in Washington D.C in order to be closer to the S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters since he worked for them now. He had just finished debriefing with Fury about a mission he's going to do in a few days with Y/N and Natasha. Before he can fully prep for the operation, he wanted to take some time for himself. He wanted to finally pay a visit to somebody he's been holding off on seeing since he's awaken.

He walked through the hallways of the retirement home and eyed the room the receptionist told him she'd be at. One of the caretakers offered to lead him there anyway, and they gave a nod before leaving Steve alone. He entered the room, seeing the elderly lady on her bed looking through a photo album.

Peggy.

She looked up, seeing the tall and muscular blond haired man. It was as if she'd seen a ghost. Somebody that was long gone. A fragment of the past that she never thought would resurface again.

"Steve?" Her voice broke as she called out. The man slowly walked up to the side of the bed and smiled.

"Hey, Peggy."

She began to cry. "You're alive...it's been so long."

He bent down beside the bed and held her hand. Even though her tears were of joy, it pained him to see her cry.

"I couldn't leave my best girl." He told her, which made the lady smile amidst her tears. 

The two talked, with Steve telling her how he survived the crashing of the Valkyrie and explained what he's been doing the last year. Peggy was proud that he was a hero not only back then but in the modern day as well.

In turn, Peggy told him as much as she could remember. Mostly about her work after he went missing and when she founded S.H.I.E.L.D.

Their conversations went on for some time, but unfortunately, Peggy's Alzheimer's would cause them to cut talks short and start again. It saddened Steve at first, but he didn't care. He could talk to her for hours and it'd be a blessing.

During one of their exchanges, Peggy looked into her photo album again. Steve decided to finally ask about it.

She started to explain. "I sometimes forget things...the pictures in here live on permanently as my memory debilitates."

She looked through the pages, and suddenly stopped at one. She smiled, looking at the photos on it. Steve noticed her pause.

"See something you like? A memory you're very fond of?" He asked, sitting back on the seat beside the bed.

Peggy looked at him, still smiling as she pivoted the album towards him. There, he saw photos of her with a toddler.

"My little boy."

It came as a shock for Steve at first, but quickly chose to hide it. He gave a smile back as he looked at the pictures. Some were just of the boy by himself and some were of him with her. There was even one with Howard Stark carrying the kid.

Did she have a kid with Stark? He hoped not. The fact of Peggy's son being related to Tony Stark also brought him shivers. He shrugged it off though.

"Wow...he's adorable." He spoke. "Where is he now?"

This time, Peggy's smile disappeared and looked back at the photo. She ran her fingers along it.

"I don't know..."

Steve raised a brow at her statement. She continued.

"He...he was taken from me."

Rogers didn't mean to bring up such a delicate subject. He got closer and caressed her arm. "I'm...I'm sorry."

"I don't know by who. These are the only things I have to remember him by. I just hope he's...alive...living a good life." She sniffled, "That's all that matters to me."

She looked back at Steve and smiled again. She handed the book to him and he gazed upon the photos once more.

She spoke again as he looked them over. "He was a joy. The greatest thing to have ever happened to me. I wish you were there to see him."

He smiled, still looking down at the pictures. "I know you must've been an amazing mother. And the father was very lucky to have you by his side."

Peggy kept looking at him. "He never got to meet him."

Steve looked up at her with curiosity, wondering why that was.

She spoke again. "Despite that, I raised him by myself and wanted to teach him the principles his father lived by..."

The elderly woman reached over and took his hand. The soldier looked into her eyes as she continued.

"...the principles you lived by."

END OF: THE AVENGERS