I'm sorry, but he's not coming back

The Box

It was six o'clock on a Monday morning. Peggy was awake and getting ready to get back to her job at the SSR. It had been months since her last mission because she had found out that Steve died, and she just couldn't work knowing that he was gone for good. But it was time! She needed to get back to work in order to start over, with a new beginning. She had to leave memories of Steve in the past and move on. She would never forget him, but she new that she could not continue by waking up everyday crying for the love that she lost.

***
When she entered the SSR an agent started shouting, " Ms. Carter! Mr. Stark wants to see you!" She looked at the tall thin man and replied, " okay, did he say when?" He took a moment," Oh right! Sorry, he said.. as soon as possible." You weren't surprised Howard was always so impatient, but maybe it was something actually important this time. Probably not. "Of course, thank you," Peggy said before the Agent started walking away only to turn around a few seconds later. "By the way, I'm sorry for your loss." Oh great! Someone had to remind her, the day was already off to a great start. "Oh, thank you," and he walked away. Peggy started heading towards Howard's office.
As she arrived at the door about to knock, it opened. She saw Howard stop in shock as he almost ran into her. "Oh, hi Peg!" Howard smiled at her, his mustache curling upwards as he did so, and ushered her into his office. Then they sat down. "What is this about, Howard?" He stood up and grabbed a box nearby. He set it down in front of her and she asked, "what's this?" As she looked at it then she read what was on the side of the box,
Steve Rogers: deceased
Case CLASSIFIED
She held the box tightly, it was Steve. "Howard? You know that I don't want to talk about Steve anymore-"
He interrupted, "Yes Peggy I know, but there's something in there from Steve and I thought that it would give you closure."
"I already have closure. Whatever it is, it will not help."
"Peggy please, it's a letter... It's best if you just read it."
"Howard. I need to get back to work." She stopped herself from saying anything she would regret, got up, and stormed out of the room. Leaving the box behind.
He has no right to say what the best thing for me is. I can make my own decisions without his help!
She continued through the day hearing "I'm sorry for your loss" from everyone she saw. Everybody pitied her, at least they acted like it. She had had enough and was glad that the day was over when she walked out of the door ready to head home, well she called it home, but it didn't feel like it, not without Steve.

***
She walked up to her apartment, keys in hand when she saw a box. The box, the one she didn't want to open and left at the SSR. She was sure Howard was the one who decided to put it there for her to find. It was classified, they left classified information in front of her door step just waiting for someone to find it. It had to be Howard. She quickly bent down to pick it up and saw a note on the top that said:
To: Peggy
From: you know who ;)
I know that you said you didn't want to see what was inside, but there's nobody other than you to give this information to.
Thanks

Wow, It was definitely Howard. Peggy walked inside and put down the box after closing the door and taking off her coat. She didn't want to open the box and decided to just leave it there until she forgot about it.
~~~
A/N: Hey guys! I hope that you've enjoyed this story so far! I've been enjoying writing it. I feel like most of the chapters are pretty short so here's a longer one. Feel free to vote, comment, & share if you'd like.
Thanks for staying awesome! ❤️ -Heather