A New Beginning - Endgame Fixit

Peggy

After returning the tesseract, he jumped to the day and time she'd told him to show up. He looked through her window. She was sitting on the couch, crying.

He tapped softly on the window, and her head snapped up. Shock turned to confusion which turned to relief as she yanked the door open and threw herself into his arms. He went inside and closed the door just as the clock chimed.

"I don't believe it, how are you still alive?" Steve's heart filled. He'd thought he'd never hear her beautiful accent again.

She looked him up and down in wonder, wiping her tears. In spite of her efforts, they continued to pour.

"It's...a long story. But I believe I promised you a dance."

She smiled and took his hands, and they slowly danced in a circle. After a few minutes, she finally whispered, "You look older."

He told her the entire story. Being frozen, joining the avengers. Bucky. The snap. Time travel. Peggy took it far better than Steve had expected. She seemed to understand all of it fairly well, only asking a few clarifying questions.

"And now I'm finally here," he finished, letting go as they sat down. He hadn't taken his eyes from her face the whole time.

"And you haven't seen me in eighty years," she whispered.

"Only ten of them count," he said.

She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. "So I'm the founder of this important organization... Shield," she said breathlessly, shaking her head and almost laughing. "And you're an Avenger. And...and you have a time travel device, but you still don't know how to fix this." She gave him a smile that said that's the Steve I know. As in, you adorable idiot.

"But you do?" he asked.

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes.

"It's important, what I'm supposed to do in this timeline. I can't just go with you to the future. But you don't want to stay in a time you no longer belong in."

Steve nodded slowly.

"You spent ten years without me in the future...so give me ten years alone in the past. I'll start this organization, say my goodbyes, and be ready when you arrive."

"Wait, what?" he blinked. He'd never considered bringing her to the future.

"Come for me, in this exact place, at eight o'clock on this day ten years from now. I'll go to the future with you."

Steve felt dizzy. She really meant it? He blinked at her, dazed, and she kissed him. Everything flooded through his heart and he knew everything was going to work out. After a minute they gently broke apart.

"Now go," she said, smiling through her tears. "I'll be waiting."

She stayed true to her word. In either ten years or two minutes, they were reunited again. When he appeared outside the window she was already waiting, an impatient smile on her face.

"I thought about you every day for the whole ten years," was the first thing she said after she stopped kissing him.

"I thought about you every day I spent in the future." And I didn't know I'd see you again.

She kissed him again. "I know."

"You ready?" He asked.

"I've been ready for months," she said with a laugh, taking his hand, then breathing in deeply. "Are you?"

Then they were thrust into the future.