I Thought You Were Different: Part 6

Sneaky

Bucky was absolutely right; Steve wasn't at his best when he was alone, but he didn't know it like his best friend did. As a boy, Steve was terrified of hospitals, but they weren't like they were now. More people survived than didn't with the advances in medicine, and he dared to hope that he could be one of the lucky ones, even after he had been given more luck than he had deserved in his lifetime thus far. The longer he sat in his over-starched and grotesquely sterile bed, the more his mind began to race, and the more it began to wander into territory that usually meant that exact trouble that Bucky was talking about.

Steve wasn't ready for this. He wasn't done.

Yes, his children were grown with lives of their own, but Anthony had sparked the glimmer of hope in his father that he would see his boy get married and start his own family soon. Grant had become a leader and a member of a team that literally took him to new heights that he couldn't have sent his own boy to, and he was thankful for that. Brooke had saved the world with her grandfather against a foe who seemed indestructible; that alone was enough for Steve to say that she had given her service for several lifetimes, but he could see that same look in her eyes that he had seen looking back at himself far too many times. Saving the world once wouldn't be enough, and he was both proud of and scared for his daughter. Beyond all of that, he still missed Maggie to this day, even so many years later. Maybe his death would bring him to see her again, but it wasn't enough to make him give up just yet.

Then there was you. How could he ever be done with his life with you? The two of you had been given more chances than either of you had thought possible, through breakups, betrayals, near-death experiences, and a love that had survived it all. Steve dropped his head heavily against his pillow and closed his eyes, almost thankful for the crushing pain beginning in his chest at the thought of all he was going to miss now. He knew so well exactly how strong you were and that you would be okay without him, as would his children, but that didn't take away from how unfair he felt it all to be. He couldn't understand why now, when there was so much yet to do.

Steve had been given a second chance at life already when they pulled him from the ice, and he didn't care that it felt outright greedy to ask for a third. He wasn't done yet. What he did know for certain was that lying in a hospital room so far away from everyone he loved wasn't going to do a damn thing to make him feel any better, and it wouldn't stop the process of his body betraying him one last time. He stood up, slowly and cautiously to get his bearings, ripping away monitors and lines as he moved. The alarms didn't slow him from getting dressed and moving quickly down the hall, looking back as if he dared anyone to try to stop him from going back to the only place that mattered on this god-forsaken planet. Steve was going home, and if that meant that it would be where he would see his final days, then so be it. At least he would be with you, and there was no better place to die than in your arms.

~~~

"This was never Tony's wedding," Steve finally admitted, "it's ours. That's why they let you choose pretty much everything. Everyone promised to keep it a surprise, and honestly, I can't believe that we pulled it off."

"Oh, my god."

"I wanted to renew our vows a while back, but then so much happened with the robbery, and moving back here...and Maggie..." he paused, his voice beginning to break, "but I didn't want to wait anymore." He took the few steps forward to close the space between you, taking your hands into his despite the shaking that you could feel from them, "so, (Y/N), will you marry me again? Please don't make it weird and say no."

~~~

After a drive that spent much of the night hours, your eyes began to burn with the fatigue of concentrating on the road. You berated yourself for not just taking a jet when you had the chance, but you still had to admit that it did help your mind somewhat just to get away from the entire Avenger life even if only for a few hours.