glow [s. rogers]

alternate ending

"are we sure that this is safe?" delilah asked, watching steve stand on what seemed to be the launching pad for jumping through the quantum realm. the launching pad for time travel.

bruce nodded, "as long as he doesn't come back old or a baby it'll be fine."

"if you bring him back and he's small and sickly just send him back. i genuinely cannot deal with that anymore." bucky spoke, his voice
monotone and his voice extremely serious. someone had had enough of small steve. it was bucky, bucky was someone.

steve leaned down to kiss delilah one more time, a small smile ghosting across his lips as they met hers.

she brushed the long blonde hair out of her face and took a step back. taking a deep breathe, delilah let her lips curl into a soft smile, taking him in for what she thought would be the last time.

she knew his plan and wasn't going to stop him. if peggy was what he wanted, if being at risk for polio was what he wanted, if nasty boiled chicken was what he wanted, he could have it. delilah wasn't going to stand in his way, she would just listen to lizzo until she got over him.

"you okay?" steve asked as he caught the glimpse of a tear running down her cheek.

she nodded weakly, "always."

"say the word and i swear, i won't-"

delilah shook her head and hugged him once again before pressing a small flip phone into his hand. there was a single number programmed into it: her own.

"i understand. just please call me. and maybe you can come back if you miss me too much."

he laughed at what she said, a typically adorable delilah thing to say.

"i'm serious."

"i know you are."

quicker than delilah would've liked, bruce called the captain to the pad, it was time for him to go.

"going quantum in three, two, one!"

steve cast her one more look before he shrank and was gone all together. she stared hard at the huge piece of technology in the stark's beautiful yard. it was like she was using the force to try to bring him back, but it was doing everything but working.

"delilah-"

"it's fine, bucky. i loved him and i let him go, i'm fine."

before bucky could even argue about how wrong she was, someone's phone began to ring.

sam was smiling like a sly mother fucker, while he shrugged, "it isn't my phone."

bruce shook his head, "it isn't mine either."

bucky looked straight at her, "i don't have a phone and you know that."

delilah reached her hand into her pocket hesitantly, she was still scared derrick was going to call her, even after all these years.

an unknown number flashed across the screen, she grew slightly sick to her stomach, not sure if she really wanted to answer it or not.

suddenly she was overwhelmed with the feeling of "fuck it. just do it." and brought the phone up to her ear.

"hello?" she asked quietly, her voice still raspy from crying.

"sorry. it's just, i missed you too much."

she smiled brightly and wiped the tears from her eyes, "i missed you too."

the only sound on the other line was just steady breathing.