Artemis : The Seventh Avenger ➳ Steve Rogers [1]

Alternate Ending [ Epilogue ]

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CAMILLE

TWO MONTHS LATER

"Auntie Cami!" I'm greeted by the children pouncing all over me as soon as I step foot in the house. Well, all of them except for Cooper that is, who looked excited at our arrival but has apparently 'grown too old for hugs'.

I ruffled Cooper's hair as I walked by him and he whines in protest.

"Auntie Cam, stop!" He yells, trying to keep a straight face, but his smile betrays him. "Hi, Uncle America." He then greets Steve who entered the house close behind me.

"What took you so long?" Tony asks, coming out of the kitchen.

He'd arrived early at Clint's to help with the preparations and to let Morgan-who I recently had the pleasure of meeting, spend more time with Clint's kids, who she has grown to love.

"Picked up some Shawarma." I state, holding up the brown paper bag in my hand, "And some cheeseburgers."

"This is why you're my favourite out of all the Avengers." Tony says, happily taking the bag from me, "No offence, Cap."

Steve shrugs it off, "I'm used to it." He says, kissing me on the cheek.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked.

Tony glances at his watch, "They should be here in a bit.

Just then a portal opens a few feet away from us and Strange steps through it, with Wong close behind him and I hear cars pulling up outside.

"Right on time." Tony says as he greets the two with a handshake.

The kids are immediately on their feet, rushing towards the wizard and asking him to show them a magic trick.

I snicker as the Doctor shoots me a pleading look and simply shrug as I mouthed the words 'have fun' to him.

"Hey, Artemis." Clint greets, with trays of hamburger patties and hotdogs in his hands, "What did you buy burgers for?" He sulks as he spots the bag in Tony's hand.

"It isn't the same, it's from his favourite place." I argue and Clint clicks his tongue in annoyance, "There's Shawarma too."

"Man, I haven't had the chance to have another one since the New York battle." Clint says, suddenly full of excitement.

He hooks a finger in the edge of the bag and peers into it, only to have Tony swat his hand away.

"Need a hand?" Steve offers before taking a couple of trays from Clint and helping him to the grill outside.

The rest of us make our way out as well and settle at the bunches that Clint had set up outside, where the rest of the team had gathered. Hugs and greetings are exchanged when I catch sight of Nat and Bruce arriving together.

I smirk as soon as Nat notices me and she immediately shoots me an exasperated look.

"Don't." She warns as I approach her.

"I wasn't going to say anything!" I say in my defence, "But I guess things are going well, huh?"

A blush creeps up on her cheeks, a rare sight for such a highly trained spy and that was enough for me to know.

"I'm happy for you, Nat." I say, reaching over to squeeze her hand.

Nat then excuses herself to greet the Guardians who had just arrived along with Thor and Loki, and T'Challa, Shuri and Okoye who had flown in specially from Wakanda.

I spot Strange standing in a corner and made the decision to join him.

"Fourteen million possibilities and this is it, huh?" I chuckled, smiling at the sight of everyone gathered together.

Strange glances at me with an expression I couldn't quite decipher.

"It definitely was one of the possible outcomes." He says, "But not the one I saw."

"I'm sorry, what?" I furrow my brows at him in confusion.

"In the future that I've seen, you don't make it out alive, Ms Romanoff and the people who you've lost, stayed dead. It seems you've managed to change the future a second time." He answers.

"But how is that possible?" I asked.

"No one ever knew the true extent of the abilities of the Stones and no one was ever strong enough to find out. But now, we have some sort of idea." He smiles, "Needless to say, your powers are quite extraordinary. I've never seen anything like it."

My eyes dart up at the sound of someone clearing their throat to see Steve, smiling sheepishly at me, "Do you mind?" He gestures to the far corner, where the woods were and offers me a hand.

I gladly take it, "Catch you later, Doctor." I smile before taking my leave with Steve.

He leads me into the wood, where we've taken a stroll in together, what felt like a lifetime ago.

We walk in comfortable silence, hand in hand before he finally speaks.

"You remember that place we were talking about?" He says, "Well, I've been looking and..." He trails off, pulling a small box, finishes with a pretty blue ribbon from his pocket.

"Open it." He says as he hands it to me.

I do, pulling the ribbon free and removing its lid, to reveal a key.

"I found the perfect place." He continues, "It's peaceful there and there's a lake nearby."

He beams just talking about it, pulling me close to him.

"It's only thirty minutes away from the Compound and an hour from here and Tony's at the most-So, close to family." He smiles.

"Sounds perfect." I can't help but smile as well just from watching him, looking so incredibly excited.

"I can't wait to live my life with you." He whispers, planting a kiss on the back of my hand, "I love you, with all my heart."

I chuckle, feeling my face heat up and my heart fluttering, even after all these years.

"I love you too." I say reaching up to kiss him.

We stay there for a moment as he holds me close to his side, staring back at the view of the family we've built over the years, smiling and genuinely happy in each other's company.

So here we stood, allies and past enemies alike. It all started eleven years ago when seven different people from vastly different walks of lives came together as a team. It's amazing how far we've come because now, we're so much more than we were before.

They say home is where the heart is, and that could never be any truer. I've found my home in not a roof or a house but with these people, the people I love. This is and forever will be my family, not necessarily by blood but through love and that will always be enough for me.