EVERMORE ─ marvel ⁷

XII. A Hero's Legacy

Chapter Twelve
Steve

Without taking my eyes off the shield I pull out my phone and call my uncle, grateful that he answers on the second or third ring.

"Hey Stevie, get my package?" Uncle Sam asks knowingly.

"I—yeah, yeah I did. Why—what? Are you...what?" I don't even know what I'm saying. What are words? What is anything? How can I even begin to wrap my head around this?

Uncle Sam chuckles on the other end. "Since I'm retiring I won't be needing the shield anymore. Someone has to wield it, and there's no one better suited to the task than you."

"Me? Are you kidding? There are tons of people better suited than me."

"I've known you your whole life, Stevie. I've watched you grow up from a naive boy who wanted to become an Avenger to fight bad guys to a honorable young man who knows what it means to be a hero. That shield is a symbol of hope and freedom, it needs to be wielded by someone who will fight for those ideals and for what's right no matter what it might mean for them. That someone is you."

I glance at Lee, who is wearing the widest grin on his face. He gives me an encouraging nod, just like I gave him when the queen knighted him. I reach out and wrap my hand around his, feeling my throat grow tight. "I will work everyday to be worthy of your faith in me, Uncle Sam."

"That's why it's yours."

Feeling my eyes grow blurry from tears, I squeeze Lee's hand and whisper into the phone. "Thank you."

I can tell my uncle is smiling. "You've earned it."

We hang up after that, and the minute I put the phone down I try to wipe away my tears, but the more I try the faster they come. Lee pulls me into his embrace and holds onto me tightly, whispering into my ear: "I'm so proud of you."

"I still don't think I deserve it."

"No one deserves it more than you do."

I can't help but laugh, pointing out to him: "That's literally what I told you on the ship."

Lee laughs along with me, pulling back enough to brush the tears from my cheeks. "Maybe we both need to own our achievements."

I sniffle and try to suppress my smile, but I'm unable to. "Yeah maybe we do."

"Forget the grilled cheese and mac and cheese. We're going out to eat, and we're going to eat so much celebratory cake we'll puke." Lee declares with a kiss on my still damp cheeks.

"That sounds great."

Lee glances down at the shield still in it's case, an anticipated grin forming on his lips. "Why don't you try it on?"

I reach out and carefully lift the shield up, strapping it on my right forearm. It's lighter than I thought it would be, and for some reason it looks bigger now that I'm holding it. It's crazy to me that I'm actually holding onto the shield; the shield I've seen my uncle wield by whole life, the shield I've learned about in every history class I've ever been to, the shield the man I was named after first used. This feels too surreal.