Chapter Text
Post-Endgame
Steve finally took a moment to stand still. Between getting the infinity stones, fighting Thanos’ army, then returning the stones back to where, and when, the’d come from, he’d lost all track of time. His last stop had been in 1970. He knew everyone expected him to stay. Make things work with Peggy. Have the romantic happily ever after. The problem was that Steve couldn’t do it.
How could he live blithely in the past playing house with Peggy and ignoring everything around him. Leaving Bucky to be tortured. Howard to be murdered. An unending death toll that would once again be his fault. Steve didn’t know how to escape the guilt he already carried around with him, much less anything more. It would break him. In the end, the answer was simple.
A quick stop to SHEILD before they fell gave him a photostatic veil and the ability to return as a much older version of himself. Everyone wanted to believe the romantic lie, making it easier to sell. After that it was easy to pass the shield off to Sam and disappear. He’d take care of Bucky, and the two men would be good for each other. Which left Steve free.
He took a few days to hide out in a safe house. Get something to eat, even if sleep were unfortunately elusive. To think about what he really wanted. Maybe it was the Catholic upbringing, but all Steve could think of was absolution. And there was really only one man he wanted it from.
He turned the last remaining vial of Pym particles over in his hands again and again, trying to think it through. He could go anywhere in time, but even at the worst points in their relationship, Tony would never give him what he needed. And there would always be an expiration date. Because Tony had sacrificed himself for them all. There was nowhere for him to go here. No place he fit. And the longer he stayed, the higher the chances that someone would realize he was there. Would expect him to be Captain America again. In the end, the answer was simple.
Steve went to the New York Sanctum to talk to Strange. It took some time to explain what he was looking for. Even more to convince Strange it was what he really wanted. A one way trip. No exit strategy. He eventually had to agree to let the sorcerer sift through the broken pieces of his mind. That was enough to do the trick. After some time spent sifting through the mulitverse, he found exactly what Steve needed.
Strange tried one last time to talk Steve out of his decision, but in the end relented. He opened a portal created from glowing orange lines in front of them. With shoulders straight and head held high, Steve walked through it into his chosen destiny.