The world didn’t end all at once. It ended in silence.

The kind of silence that came after a whisper of ash. After a phone rang and no one answered. After Steve Rogers turned around in the kitchen and realized you weren’t behind him anymore.

Not a goodbye. Not a scream. Just… gone.

The Snap took half the universe. It took heroes, friends, strangers.

And it took her.

His wife. His home. His future.

Steve tried to carry on. Ran support groups. Talked like he believed in hope. But inside, the ache never dulled. Every day was lived in the shadow of a phantom life—quiet breakfasts, soft laughter, your arms around his waist in the dark.

Five years passed.

Until one day, at Avengers Compound, surrounded by chaos, portals, and the return of legends—she came back.

⸻

It wasn’t dramatic. Not like the battles. Not like the thunder.

He turned in the wreckage of the battlefield, bruised and bloodied, heart pounding from the final clash.

And then—he saw you.

Standing barefoot in the dirt, blinking at the sky like you hadn’t seen it in years.

Because you hadn’t.

“Steve?” you breathed, voice trembling.

His shield dropped from his hands with a dull thunk.