Steve Rogers/Captain America One Shots

Soldier

(Listen to Bella's Lullaby while you read, this song is so beautiful it's unreal and it envokes so much emotion. I listened to it as I wrote this one and it adds a whole other level of heartwrenching beauty to the story.)

Pale shades of peach and lavender painted the sky, streaks of light color casting out the deep sky blue that disappeared along with the clouds. The sunset created a mural in the sky, one that seemed to soften the world if even for a short moment. The last few burning rays from the setting sun shone across Steve Rogers, as his boots carried him gently down the sidewalk. The wind had picked up the scent of the descending dusk in air, and it swirled around him as he walked steadily. His slightly clammy and nervous hands shoved into the pockets of his brown leather jacket that covered his tensed muscles, and his eyes focused themselves on his surroundings. 

The neighborhood was small, warm and inviting. It had grown since the last time he had passed through this place, and yet he couldn't say much more had changed. The lamp posts had been updated along with the looks of the houses he passed, but the essence of the street he traveled down stood the test of time. It was as though he had stepped through a time machine, right back in the forties when he was visiting this certain house for the very first time. 

His feet soon brought him to a halt, as the very tips of his boots brushed against the grass of a freshly cut front lawn. The bright and lush green grass was encompassed by a white picket fence, one that he knew had been repainted since his last visit, and yet not a thing about it looked new. It still looked as every other neighborhood fence in that decade had. And the sight of the short fence caused a warmness to flutter inside of his anxiously tight chest. 

Steve drew in a deep breath, as he forced his feet to take a timid step forward. Inching past the front gate that pushed open easily, due to it's unhooked clasp. And he listened to the soft metal bang quietly behind him. His boots soon on familiar ground as he walked forward across the small bit of sidewalk that led up to the front porch. Rows of brightly colored flowers were planted around the wide and also white painted porch, and watching them rustle in the wind made the fluttering sensation in Steve's chest grow. Pale pink carnations and deep wine red roses lay planted together in bunches, and the sight of them reminded him of the bouquets he brought to this very house every so often. 

He stepped up onto the first step of three, leading to the front door. And looking around the wide wooden porch, he spotted that nothing that was once there had been changed. The rocking swing in the right corner still swung in the soft breeze, and the flower pots and shovels still sat in a pile by the left side of the door. It was as though time had not touched this house. Despite it's updated furnishings and modernized neighbors, the house felt exactly as it did seventy some years ago. 

Reaching into the pocket of his jacket, as Steve allows his hands to fall free from them, he clutches onto a small black and white photograph he had brought with him. Staring at the face that had burned it's way into his memory, yet still somehow looked unbelievable to him on the small square of paper. Swallowing deeply, as Steve peels his eyes away from the picture, he raises his right hand towards the door. Letting his knuckles fall softly against the pale painted wood. And it isn't long before the door before him slowly opens.

Steve wasn't sure who he had exactly expected to open the door, who he thought would be standing in front of him when it opened to answer his knock. And still, he felt a sinking feeling in his chest the moment it opened and revealed a woman he knew he had never seen before. 

"Can I help you?" 

Her voice was soft, polite and she eyed the man with curiosity and caution in her pale green eyes. Her right hand still held tightly to the door, as if she might need to suddenly slam it quickly in his face. But she didn't regard him as though he was a threat, instead she looked at him like she saw the lostness behind his eyes as he looked up at her.