The Sapphire Legacy (Steve Rogers)

Chapter 10

- 2 years later -

"So, I uh...I went on a date the other day. The first time in five years, you know? Since it happened. So I'm sitting there at dinner...I don't even know what to talk about." I stand in the back listening to Steve lead the support group we have been hosting since the blip.

"What did you talk about?"

The man sighs, "same old crap, you know? How things have changed, and...my job, his job...How much we miss the mets..." He huffs a little, "and then things get quiet, he cried as they were serving the salads."

"And you?" Steve looks at him with a comforting glance.

"I cried...just before dessert. But, I'm seeing him again tomorrow." I smile to myself and think back to just how lucky I had been after the snap. Sure, I lost people, but I didn't lose Steve or Tony and Pepper. Not to mention, I gained Morgan.

"That's great. You did the hardest part. You took the jump, you didn't know where you were gonna come down. And that's it. That's those little brave baby steps we gotta take. To try and become whole again, try and find purpose. I went in the ice in '45, woke up 70 years later scared of the new world in front of me and then ended up finding the love of my life." Steve smiled and looked back at me. "The world is in our hands. It's left to us guys, and we got to do something with it. Otherwise... Thanos should have killed all of us."

They continue talking for a few minutes longer before Steve ends the meeting, "I'll see you all next week." People linger and mingle for a few minutes before it's just Steve and I. "That was a good session today." He picks up the chairs and leans them against a wall. "I agree." He wraps his arm around my shoulder and presses a kiss to my temple. "Let's go visit Nat, yea?" I nod and we exit the cafe.

The past two years have been great for me and Steve, still living in our Brooklyn apartment. As much as I love life with Steve, I can't help but long for the days where we were always on the move and there was never a dull moment. Now it seems like the days bleed into one another, but I have Steve and that's all that matters.

Steve and I had been trying for a kid for about a year, not that we were ever really careful anyway, but we haven't had any luck. Bruce seems to think it could be from all the testing Hydra did on me, but it's hard to say for sure or not.

Steve pulls into the avengers compound and we walk inside to find Nat with her head in her hands, her hair had now grown out back to red over-coloring her blond hair. "You know I'd offer to cook you dinner but you seem pretty miserable already." Steve and I walk in and I sit down in the chair in front of her while he leans against a bookshelf. Nat quickly wipes the stray tears off of her face. "Why are you both here? Is this some sort of intervention?" She jokes.

"You know, we saw a pod of whales when we came up the bridge." Steve walks over behind me and places his hands on my shoulders. "In the Hudson?" "Fewer ships, cleaner water now..." "You know, if you both are here to tell me to look on the bright side...I'm about to hit you with a peanut butter sandwich." We laugh at her and Steve places his jacket on the back of my chair before sitting in the chair next to me.

"You know, in our group, we keep telling people they should move on...grow. Some do." He looks at her and she huffs, "If I move on, who does this?" I reach across the table and grab her hand, "maybe it doesn't need to be done." Her teary eyes meet mine. "I used to have nothing, and then I got this. This job...this family...and I was better because of it. Even though...they're gone...I'm still trying to be better." Steve smiles at her and opens his mouth to say something but gets cut off by an alert.

Camera footage pops up in front of us, showing Scott Lang in front of our front gate.

"Oh! Hi! Is anyone home? This is Scott Lang. We met a few years ago, at the airport? In Germany? I got really big, and I had my mask on. You wouldn't recognize me." Steve stands up abruptly. "Is this an old message?" "It's the front gate..." We share a knowing look and Steve quickly leaves the room.

A few minutes later he walks back in, with Scott, who immediately begins pacing worriedly in front of us. "Scott, are you okay?" Steve questions. "Yea I'm fine." He continues to pace back and forth, "Have any of you ever studied Quantum Physics?" Steve and I shake our heads, no. "I have, only to make conversation." He nods at Natasha and stops pacing.

"Alright. So... five years ago, right before Thanos, I was in a place called the Quantum Realm. The Quantum Realm is like its own microscopic universe. To get in there, you have to be incredibly small. Hope, she's my... She was my... She was supposed to pull me out. And then Thanos happened, and I got stuck in there."

I place my hand on Scotts arm, "I'm sorry...that must have been a very long five years."

He shakes his head back and forth, "Yea, but that's just it. It wasn't. For me, it was five hours." We glance at each other with a look of confusion as Scott continues. "See, the rules of the Quantum Realm aren't like they are up here. Everything is unpredictable..." He pauses and looks at the desk, "is that anyone's sandwich?? I'm starving." Nat waves her hand and he immediately picks it up and bites into it. "What I'm saying is, time works differently in the Quantum Realm. The only problem is right now, we don't have a way to navigate it. But what if we did? I can't stop thinking about it. What if, we could somehow control the chaos, and we could navigate it? What if there was a way to enter the Quantum Realm at a certain point in time but then exit at another point in time? Like... Like before Thanos."

"Are you talking about a time machine?" He looks over at me, "No. No, of course not. No, not a time machine. It's more like a... Yeah, a time machine. I know it's crazy. But I can't stop thinking about it. There's gotta be some way... There's gotta be...some... it's crazy."

"Scott, I get emails from a raccoon, nothing is crazy anymore." Nat laughs and shakes her head.

"So who do we talk to about this?" Scott looks at Steve, who then looks at me, "Tony Stark."