Close || Steve Rogers

Twenty Three

When I feel the jet begin to take off, I slowly make my towards the front of the jet. As I approach the front of the jet, I hear two different voices. To my horror, one of them is Steve's. It takes all I have to not run in that room and hug him.

Instead, I sit outside the door to the front of the jet and listen to what they're talking about. 

"You don't give up do you?" Red Skull asks Steve. 

"Nope." he responds. I silently curse Steve for having to stand up to bullies. But I understand why he's doing it.

"You could have the power of the gods! Yet you wear a flag on your chest and think you fight a battle of nations! I have seen the future, Captain! There are no flags! " Red Skull yells. 

I peek around the door frame in time to see Steve yell, "Not my future!" and then do something with a bright blue cube. 

"What have you done?" Red Skull yells, grabbing for the cube. I gasp and back away from the door as a portal opens up. Unable to watch both men get sucked into the other world, I hide my face in my hands and lay against the wall. 

Tears run uncontrollably down my face. Steve is gone. That was the only thing running through my mind. I couldn't think of anything else. 

How am I going to go on? I thought then. Steve had become my entire world. I don't know what I'd do after the plane landed. The plane! How am I going to land the plane?  I begin to stand up and make my way towards the controls when I hear a voice coming from inside the room.

"Peggy...can I talk to Beth?" I hear Steve ask. I peek out from behind the wall and see him sitting in the pilot's seat. I look away and lean against the wall, my hand over my heart and fresh tears rolling down my face. He's okay.

"She's not here Steve." I hear Peggy respond. 

"What do you mean she's not there? She's supposed to be with you!" Steve yells. 

"She went to help you, Steve." she tells him quietly. Deciding now was as good a time as any, I step into the room. 

"Steve?" I mumble, messing with the hem of my shirt as I hesitantly watch him turn around to face me. 

"Elizabeth..." Steve gasps, trailing off. 

I begin crying harder and run to him. He catches me in his arms and hold me tightly, one hand gripping my waist and the other pressing my head into his chest. He then releases me only to pull me into his lap as he sits down in the pilot seat again. My arms snake around his waist as he gains control of the plane again. 

"There's not gonna be a safe landing, but I can try and force it down." Steve says after a few quiet moments. 

"I'll... I'll get Howard on the line. He'll know what to do." Peggy stammers.

"There's not enough time. This thing's moving too fast and it's heading for New York." Steve says before pausing. 

"I gotta put her in the water." he then continues quietly after a few seconds. 

"Right now I'm in the middle of nowhere. If I wait any longer, a lot of people are gonna die."

"What about Elizabeth, Steve?" Peggy asks, trying to get Steve to rethink this decision. Steve looks down at me as I look up at him. Meeting his gaze, I smile and nod. 

"I'll be okay. I'll be with Steve, and that's all that matters." I mumble, snuggling deeper into Steve's chest.

The radio is silent as Steve begins to angle the plane towards the ground. I take a deep breath and begin to accept my fate. 

"Beth, I...I just want you to know that I love you. I love you so much and I'm so grateful that I met you. I don't know where I would be now if I didn't have you." Steve admits suddenly, pulling me away from him so he can look me in the eyes. I smile as more tears once again begin rolling down my cheeks. 

"I love you too Steve. So much. I'd be lost without you. You changed my life for the better and I'm grateful for that." I tell him. Steve smiles sadly at me before wiping away my tears and kissing me. 

"I'll see you two soon, okay?" Peggy then says, trying to lighten the mood and get us to forget what was happening. 

As the icy, snow covered ground comes into view through the windshield, I lay back into Steve and say, "We'll see you soon. We'll meet back at the camp, alright?"

Steve nods behind me and says, "Don't you dare be late." 

The sound of Peggy chuckling comes through the radio, making me smile. I look away from the window and bury my head in Steve's chest as the ground gets closer.

Steve's arms tighten around me and he curls around me. 

"Just be there." is the last thing I hear Peggy say before the radio turns to static. 

"Steve?" I whimper, looking up at him. 

"Yeah?" he answers, looking at me.

"I love you." I tell him. 

"I love you too." Steve says before holding onto me tighter. That was the last thing I heard Steve say before the plane collided with the ice and everything went black.

-

you all know how this goes. p.s. Stucky is my life. If they don't happen, I'm going to die :)