—— 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙌𝙪𝙞𝙚𝙩 𝙎𝙝𝙞𝙚𝙡𝙙 ★ :us:

⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢

﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉୨★୧﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉

𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙌𝙪𝙞𝙚𝙩 𝙎𝙝𝙞𝙚𝙡𝙙

﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍﹍

⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣⌣

The world no longer needed Captain America.

That thought used to haunt Steve used to feel like losing a limb. But now, sitting on the porch of a quiet home by the lake, a cup of coffee warming his hands, he found peace in it.

The war was over. Not just a war — all of them. Thanos was gone. The team had scattered. The shield had been ed on. And Steve? Steve had finally stepped out of the fight.

It was strange at first. Waking up next to Peggy instead of charging into battle. Picking up groceries instead of weapons. No alarms. No calls for help.

Just time.

Something he never thought he’d have.

But even peace had its ghosts.

Every morning, he thought of Bucky. Of Sam. Of Natasha — especially Natasha. Of Tony. Names that lived in the quiet moments between his heartbeat. Sometimes he’d see kids riding bikes and wonder what kind of father Tony might’ve been, had he not carried the weight of saving everyone.

Steve set the coffee cup down and looked out over the water. Mist rolled across it like a soft memory. He’d been through more than one lifetime — fought gods, aliens, and his own past. But the hardest thing he’d ever done was let go.

Still, he did it. He chose to live. Not for himself, maybe. But for all of them.

A soft breeze brushed through the trees. Peggy’s laugh echoed from inside the house. He smiled.

Captain America would always be a part of him.

But now, he was just Steve.

And for once, that was enough.