The Guide To Moving On

Chapter 2 - What used to be

Steve's POV

What did I want to know? I had so many questions and trying to pick which one to ask first was near impossible. But there was one that came to mind that I was itching to know above all others.

"Did we win? The war, I mean?" I asked. The man used a funny metal thing with a screen and he showed me some photos. It was of American and British soldiers returning from the war to crowds of cheering people.

"Yes, we did win the war." He clarified. Right, well that's good that HYDRA didn't take over. But what did we lose in the process? They never talk about that, but you cannot win a war, with the number of lives and resources sacrificed for the cause. But I decided to leave the topic alone and move on to some other burning questions.

"Ok, so who are you?" I asked as I wanted to know who this person was and why he was doing all of this for me.

"I am Nick Fury, but everyone just calls me Fury and I am the director of SHIELD. In case you are wondering SHIELD stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division. We are a privately run organization that protects the world from global threats. All of those people that you saw downstairs, they are all agents who work for us." He informed slowly, to make sure that I absorbed and understood all of the information.

Right, that makes a bit of sense now. I was wondering what this place was and that pretty much answers it. I was about to ask something else when Fury interrupted me.

"SHIELD was founded in 1965 by Howard Stark and Agent Peggy Carter. I believe that you knew them both quite well." He said, looking at me intently for any kind of reaction. I stiffened a little upon hearing their names. Peggy, the only love of my life started all of this, of course, she did. She truly was amazing in every way, there was next to nothing that would stop her from doing what she wanted.

"So, how is everyone that I used to know? The Howling Commandos, Bucky, Peggy, Stark?" I asked, praying that I wouldn't be told the very thing that I am sure is imminent. Fury placed a stack of files in front of me. They looked like war files, but when I opened them up, I figured out what they were.

Every one of the Howling Commandos; Deceased, Howard Stark; Deceased, Bucky; Deceased, just as I feared they would be, my heart dropping for the 20th time today. Peggy's file, however, caught my eye. It only said retired. I looked up at Fury quizzically as I scanned her file, it said nothing about her being dead.

Fury handed me over a small piece of paper that had an address written on the back of it.

"By the looks of things Cap, she's the only one you have left of your time. You can go and see her if you want, but remember Cap, things change." He said before standing up. I followed suit, tucking the piece of paper in my pocket, and stood up with him.

"Well, I think that is some of the most important matters out of the way. I will show you to your temporary living quarters and leave you in peace, I am sure that you will need it." Fury said before leaving the room.

I followed him down a series of corridors until we came to a door with my name on it. He opened the door for me and we both walked inside. It was a simple room with a double bed, bathroom, sitting area, and kitchenette.

"So Cap, this will be your temporary room for a few days until other arrangements can be made. Believe it or not, we didn't expect you to still be alive when we got you out of the ice." Fury said. It makes sense, most people would have forgotten me, let alone thought about the prospect of me being alive after all of this time. It was something I was even still struggling to believe.

He nodded to me before leaving me alone to get settled in. I took a better look around the room, there was a box on my bed which I slowly made my way over to. It had my name written on the top in print, so I decided to open it.

Inside was some clothes, essentials and at the very bottom, there was a stack of papers. They contained all of the information that I would need such as answers to a few other questions that I had, I will read all of those later.

I placed the box to the side and stared at the wall blankly in front of me. I still couldn't quite come to terms with what I had heard. They say I was asleep for 70 years. They say I have lost nearly everyone. They say things changed. They say we won. They say I waited too long.

Everything was making my head hurt. I was so overcome with emotions, I couldn't even decide which ones were the worst. I had lost everything and everyone. Everything has changed, and I just have to be ok with it?

Yeah right, I held my head in my hands and allowed a single tear to escape. It will be so hard. I promised her. I promised Peggy that dance and now 70 years later, it is nothing more than a distant memory.

I had finally found someone that I truly loved and they were gone in an instant as I crashed that plane into the ice. Why did it have to be me? Why did I always have the worst luck? Right when I finally had my life sorted, everything I knew was brutally snatched away from me.

The pain and sorrow that I felt soon turned into anger. I had to find a way to let my emotions out safely in this strange world.

A Gym. Of course. Surely they haven't gotten rid of those yet, right? I stood up and washed my face quickly before walking out the door.

I walked down corridors aimlessly trying to find out where on earth a gym would be located. I came to a door at the end of one of the corridors I had turned down. It had a dusty sign on the front of it, unlike many of the other doors in the building.

I wiped the dust off it and squinted to read the sign. It said gymnasium on the front of it. I tried the handle and was surprised when I found that it clicked straight open. I walked inside and felt around in the dark for the light switch. I finally felt it on one of the walls and clicked it on.

The entire gym lit up with soft orange light. It was a very simple old gym with a boxing ring and bag taking up most of the space in the room. The entire room smelt stale and judging by the amount of dust that had gathered on everything, no one had been in here in a very long time.

It was designed quite a lot like the one I am used to, all of the equipment nearly identical to that used in the 1940s. I felt a calming sensation spread over my body, this was the one place that I recognized, the one place that wasn't so different from everything I was used to.

The one place that wasn't confusing or confronting. The one place that would nearly allow me to forget about everything that had recently happened. Like old times.

I walked over to the boxing bags that were laying in the corner. I brushed one of them off and grabbed it by the chain to hang it up. I grabbed a pair of gloves that were hanging next to the ring, they even smelt like what I am used to, home.

I rolled my shoulders and then started punching the bag with everything I have. Every painful memory that I had, everyone that I had lost, the promises I could never fulfill, every emotion that was coursing through my body, I used to punch that bag.

Over and over again, trying to make it all stop, hoping that I would wake up and this would be some crazy dream. Wishing I could go back, back to what it used to be.